MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 


MEXICO  UNDER 
CARRANZA 

A  Lawyer's  Indictment  of  the  Crown- 
ing Infamy  of  Four  Hundred 
Years  of  Misrule 

BY 
THOMAS  EDWARD  GIBBON 


GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

1919 


.Gr 


COPYRIGHT,  1919,  BY 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT  OF 

TRANSLATION  INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES, 

INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 


DEDICATION 

To  THE  submerged  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  Mexi- 
can people — the  peons — who,  for  four  hundred 
years,  have  been  the  victims  of  an  industrial 
slavery  almost  without  parallel  in  history,  and  to 
those  who  have  been  their  greatest  friends  and 
benefactors  in  that  dark  period,  the  heroic  Ameri- 
can pioneers  who,  at  the  risk,  and  oft-times  at 
the  cost,  of  their  lives,  have  invaded  the  mountains, 
deserts,  and  jungles  of  Mexico  to  discover  and 
develop  the  hitherto  unknown  natural  resources 
of  that  country  for  the  benefit  of  its  workers  and 
of  civilized  mankind. 


PREFACE 

How  are  the  people  of  Mexico  faring  under 
Carranza? 

What  is  the  character  of  the  Carranza  adminis- 
tration? 

Are  our  relations  with  the  present  Mexican 
Government  satisfactory  or  otherwise? 

How  have  Americans  resident  in  Mexico  been 
treated? 

What  are  the  facts  about  investments  of  Amer- 
icans and  other  aliens  and  what  relation  have 
these  investments  borne  to  the  country's  economic 
welfare? 

How  have  the  Carrancistas  treated  these  invest- 
ments? 

What  is  the  underlying  cause  of  the  woes  that 
have  beset  the  Mexican  people  since  they  began 
experimenting  with  self-government  nearly  a 
century  ago? 

Is  there  a  remedy  for  these  evils — any  hope  for 
the  future? 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

In  the  following  pages  an  attempt  has  been 
made,  after  earnest  and  prolonged  investigation, 
to  answer  these  questions  fully,  frankly,  without 
passion  and  without  prejudice. 

THOMAS  EDWARD  GIBBON. 
Los  Angeles,  Gal., 
January,  1919. 


CONTENTS     • 

PACE 

Preface vii 

CHAPTER  I 

How  the  People  of  Mexico  Have  Fared  Under 
the  Carranza  Regime  , 3 

CHAPTER  II 

Character  of  the  Carranza  Revolutionary 
Party  Constituting  the  Recognized  Gov- 
ernment of  Mexico — The  Relations  Estab- 
lished with  the  United  States  and  the  Rest 
of  the  World 42 

CHAPTER  III 

Character  of  Foreign  Investments  in  Mexico. 
Particularly  Those  of  Americans — Rela- 
tions of  These  Investments  to  the  Eco- 
nomic Condition  of  the  Country — Dealings 
Between  Foreign  Investors  and  the  Mexi- 
can Government 93 

CHAPTER  IV 

How  the  Carrancistas  Have  Treated  the  In- 
terests of  Foreign  Investors      .     .     .     .     147 
ix 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  V 


fAGi 


Causes  of  the  Evils  Which  Have  Afflicted  the 
Mexican  People  Since  Their  Existence  as  a 
Self-Governing  Nation  Began  in  1821 — 
The  Remedy 194 

APPENDIX  I 

The  General  Law  for  the  Construction  of 
International  and  Interoceanic  Railways  .  239 

APPENDIX  II 
Union  and  Central  Pacific  Railroads      .     .     245 

APPENDIX  III 

Revised  List  of  American  Citizens  Killed  in 
Mexico  by  Armed  Mexicans  During  the 
Revolutionary  Period  Between  December, 
1910,  and  September  i,  1916  ....  248 

APPENDIX  IV 

List  of  6 1  Outrages  Committed  in  the  Oil 
Regions  of  Mexico  Alone  in  a  Period  of  Six 
Months  and  Eight  Days 263 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

CHAPTER  I 

How  the  People  of  Mexico  Have 
Fared  Under  the  Carranza  Regime 

CARRANZA'S  regime  was  recognized  by 
the  United  States  October  19,  1915,  as 
the  de  facto,  and  nearly  three  years  later 
as  the  de  jure,  government  of  Mexico.  That  is 
to  say,  this  nation  on  the  former  date  gave  notice 
to  all  the  world  that,  waiving  consideration  of  its 
legal  status,  the  administration  set  up  by  Carranza 
was  in  fact  the  government  of  Mexico,  having  the 
power  and  the  inclination  to  perform  all  the  func- 
tions of  a  government  in  relation  to  its  own  people 
and  to  fulfil  all  international  obligations.  Recog- 
nition as  the  de  jure  government  was  nothing  less 
than  an  official  notification  to  the  family  of  nations 
that  Carranza's  administration  was  legally  consti- 
tuted and  that  it  possessed  both  the  lawful  power 
and  the  inclination  to  discharge  its  obligations 
toward  its  own  people  and  all  the  rest  of  the  world. 
Having  been  the  recognized  authority  for  about 
four  years  the  Carranza  Administration  may  be 

L3 


4  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

deemed  to  have  had  time'to  demonstrate  its  fitness 
to  govern.  While  Mexico  has  never  been  free 
from  revolutionary  disturbances  during  this  period, 
and  not  all  the  national  territory  has  acknowledged 
Carranza's  authority,  a  survey  of  present  condi- 
tions should  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  character  and 
capacity  of  the  Carrancistas  and  of  what  may  be 
expected  of  them  in  the  future. 

The  Mexican  people  being  more  vitally  con- 
cerned than  any  one  else  their  case  should  be  con- 
sidered first.  To  characterize  their  condition 
in  a  sentence,  their  existence  for  the  last  four  years 
has  been  an  unbroken  crescendo  of  accumulating 
woes.  Carranza  and  his  adherents  have  destroyed 
the  material  prosperity  of  the  country;  have  robbed 
the  people  to  whom  that  prosperity  was  due  of 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars;  have  reduced 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  their  countrymen,  once 
happy  and  contented  workers  in  great  industrial 
enterprises,  to  starvation;  have  dragged  Mexico 
down  to  a  depth  of  degradation  and  misery  without 
a  parallel  evenjn  the  gloomy  history  of  that  un- 
happy country. 

The  Carrancistas'  superlative  power  for  evil  is 
easily  explained.  Previous  to  the  Diaz  era  the 
Mexican  people  were  chiefly  engaged  in  farming 
and  stock  raising,  only  to  a  limited  extent  in 
mining,  and  hardly  at  all  in  manufacturing  indus- 
tries. The  looting  and  confiscation,  always  a 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  5 

conspicuous  feature  of  revolutionary  activities, 
therefore,  affected  but"  little  the"  daily  life  of  the 
common  people  because  they  produced  all  the 
food  they  needed;  and  the  population  being  very 
much  less  than  it  now  is,  starvation,  or  even  hun- 
ger, did  not  often  result  from  these  frequent  dis- 
turbances. 

The  outstanding  achievement  of  Diaz  in  the 
thirty-four  years  that  he  guided  the  destinies  of 
the  nation  was  a  tremendous  development  of 
public  service  works,  such  as  railroads,  street 
railways,  telephone  and  telegraph  systems,  gas 
works  and  manufacturing  industries  of  various 
kinds,  mining  and  smelting.  The  result  was  a 
marked  change  in  the  economic  life  of  the  country. 
Under  the  stimulus  of  ample  employment  and 
wages  very  much  higher  than  ever  before  known, 
the  population  'quite  doubled  during  the  Diaz 
period,  much  of  the  increase  being  concentrated 
in  the  cities  which  had  become  the  centres  of 
industry.  Instead  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
population  raising  its  own  food,  therefore,  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  laborers  were  engaged  in 
activities  that  produced  no  food  at  all  for  them- 
selves and  their  families.  When  the  Carrancistas 
destroyed  the  nation's  public  service  and  indus- 
trial enterprises  this  great  working  population 
was  reduced  to  idleness;  and  being  without  re- 
sources was  forced  to  submit  to  starvation  or 


6  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

seek  a  precarious  livelihood  by  joining  the  preda- 
tory bands  that  scour  the  country. 

No  one  ever  will  know  how  many  thousands  of 
helpless  women  and  children,  to  say  nothing  of 
able-bodied  men,  actually  starved  to  death  as  a 
result  of  this  almost  complete  stoppage  of  indus- 
trial activity.  A  prominent  Mexican  has  esti- 
mated that  not  fewer  than  ten  thousand  persons 
have  starved  to  death  in  Mexico  City  alone  in  the 
last  four  years.  This  is  merely  an  informed 
opinion,  to  be  sure;  but  beyond  any  question  many 
thousands  of  these  poor  people  have  died  of  hunger 
while  yet  other  thousands  of  lives  have  been  lost 
as  the  result  of  privations  and  unsanitary  condi- 
tions directly  attributable  to  the  lawless  conduct 
of  the  dominant  party.  The  epidemic  of  Spanish 
influenza  swept  through  the  country  last  fall, 
taking  frightful  toll  because  after  enduring  penury 
and  want  for  so  long  the  people  lacked  the  stamina 
to  resist  disease. 

Not  satisfied  with  merely  taking  the  bread  out 
of  the  mouths  of  so  many  of  their  countrymen,  the 
Carrancistas  with  a  refinement  of  cruelty  next 
deprived  them  even  of  the  meagre  dole  of  charity. 
No  doubt  many  readers  will  recall  the  fact  that 
in  the  latter  part  of  1915  the  American  Red  Cross, 
which  has  earned  the  admiration  of  the  world  by 
its  noble  work  in  stricken  Europe,  which  had  been 
ministering  to  the  needs  of  thousands  of  destitute 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  7 

and  starving  Mexicans,  was  expelled  from  the 
country  by  Carranza.  This  astounding  deed 
and  its  consequences  are  described  in  the  Red  Cross 
Magazine,  the  official  journal  of  the  organization, 
for  November  15,  1915,  from  which  the  following 
extracts  have  been  taken 

"At  the  request  of  General  Carranza,  and  with 
the  advice  of  the  American  Department  of  State, 
which  was  consistent  with  the  request,  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  discontinued  its  relief  activities  in 
both  southern  and  northern  Mexico  October  8, 
and  Special  Agents  Charles  J.  O'Connor  and  J.  C. 
Weller,  whose  enterprise,  hardihood,  and  efficiency 
in  relieving  the  starving  populace  had  brought 
them  much  praise,  have  been  withdrawn.  As  it 
developed,  the  State  Department  advice  in 
advocacy  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  Red  Cross 
representatives  presaged  the  formal  recognition  of 
the  Carranza  organization.  Announcement  of  the 
decision  to  recognize  General  Carranza  and  his 
forces  was  made  October  9th.  [The  recognition 
as  the  de  facto  government  of  Mexico  is  referred 
to.] 

"At  this  time,  just  as  was  the  case  the  month 
previous,  many  deaths  were  occurring  daily  from 
starvation  and  the  country  as  a  whole  was  in  a 
pitiable  plight,  economically  and  industrially.  It 
has  been  devastated  from  end  to  end  and  so  im- 
poverished and  demoralized  that  under  the  most 
favourable  conditions  it  would  be  possible  only 
slightly  to  alleviate  the  widely  extended  suffering 
which  will  be  forced  upon  the  Mexican  people  dur- 


8  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

ing  the  ensuing  winter.  General  Carranza's  as- 
surance that  the  situation  would  be  cared  for, 
therefore,  has  not  wholly  dispelled  the  feeling  of 
sincere  regret  on  the  part  of  the  American  Red 
Cross  over  relinquishing  its  part  of  the  relief  work. 

"It  is  hard,  for  instance,  to  leave  a  locality 
where  many  thousands  of  families,  mothers  and 
babes  predominating,  have  been  absolutely  depend- 
ent for  sustenance  upon  small  portions  of  nourish- 
ing vegetable  soup  which  we  had  daily  distributed. 
Half-famished  mothers  with  skeleton  babies  at  their 
breasts  have  besought  the  Red  Cross  agents,  in  the 
name  of  all  that  is  holy,  to  do  something  for  their 
little  ones — to  save  them  if  they  could  not  save  the 
mothers — and  there  have  been  many  formerly 
well-to-do  persons,  not  of  the  peon  class,  who  have 
been  among  the  pitiful  petitioners  for  Red  Cross 
aid. 

"  In  Mexico  City  alone,  under  the  very  compe- 
tent direction  of  Mr.  O'Connor,  a  chain  of  free 
soup  stations  was  operated  for  over  a  month  and 
26,000  families  were  supplied  daily  at  the  height  of 
the  distribution.  Whole  families  were  rescued  from 
the  necessity  of  trying  to  stomach  the  putrefied  flesh  of 
domestic  animals  found  in  the  streets  of  Mexico  City. 
Peon  families  could  desist  for  a  short  time  from 
picking  up  morsels  of  waste  food  from  the  rubbish 
heaps.  They  could  leave  off  the  role  of  human  car- 
rion crows  amid  the  offal  of  the  slaughter-houses. 

"Thousands  of  families  in  Monterey,  Monclova 
and  Saltillo  were  given  a  little  respite  from  a  diet  of 
prickly  or  cactus  pears,  mesquite  beans  and  other 
wild  products  of  northern  Mexico  prairies,  where 
Special  Agent  Weller,  like  Mr.  O'Connor,  endeared 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  9 

himself  to  the  civilians  and  took  many  personal 
risks  in  their  behalf/' 

In  a  report  from  a  Red  Cross  Agent  on  file  in  the 
State  Department  at  Washington  appears  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"  In  conclusion,  I  only  regret  that  some  of  our 
higher-up  government  officials  could  not  have 
been  with  me  to  see  the  brand  of  individuals  that 
are  now  in  control  of  the  situation  in  Mexico.  They 
do  not  represent  any  of  the  good  element  in  Mexico. 
They  are  lawless  and  have  no  more  idea  of  patriot- 
ism than  a  yellow  dog.  They  are  mentally  incap- 
able of  handling  the  situation.  General  Elisondo, 
in  command  at  Monclova  and  also  in  command  of 
a  district  larger  than  Massachusetts,  is  a  boy  of 
twenty-four  years,  uneducated  and  absolutely  ir- 
responsible. General  Zuazua,  formerly  classed  as 
a  saloon  bum  around  Eagle  Pass,  a  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  in  command  of  a  territory  as  big  as  Rhode 
Island,  was  sent  to  the  Mexican  army  some  fifteen 
years  ago,  having  been  arrested  for  stealing  horses 
and  cattle.  These  are  not  the  exceptions  but  the 
rule  of  the  character  of  the  men  who  now  dominate 
one  of  the  largest  states  in  northern  Mexico. 

"This  fact  is  largely  due  to  Carranza,  who  has 
allowed  them  to  do  as  they  please  and  they  have 
no  respect  whatever  for  him,  each  man  ruling  his 
district  as  he  sees  fit. 

"  I  do  not  find  any  difference  between  the  Car- 
ranza faction  and  the  Villa  faction,  with  the  excep- 
tion that  Pancho  Villa  seems  to  have  a  better  con- 
trol of  his  men.  *  *  * 


io  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

"  Having  been  in  personal  contact  with  both  fac- 
tions, I  believe  that  it  would  be  a  crime  to  turn 
loose  this  some  200,000  bandits,  thieves,  and 
scapegoats  on  the  country.  They  are  rotten  with 
disease  and  have  been  divorced  from  all  ideas  of 
ever  working  again." 

//  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  tie  authors  of  tie 
foregoing  statements  lave  no  financial  interest  in 
Mexico.  They  were  made  by  tie  representatives  of 
tie  Red  Cross,  whom  Carran^a  banished  because  he 
did  not  wish  tie  world  to  know  through  them  the 
desperate  condition  to  which  he  had  brought  his 
country. 

In  a  speech  made  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  June  2,  1916,  Senator  Fall,  of  New  Mexico, 
stated  that  records  on  file  in  the  Department  of 
State  showed  that,  at  the  very  time  when  our 
Red  Cross  was  feeding  26,000  families  a  day  in 
Mexico  City,  the  capital  of  the  nation, 

"Venustiano  Carranza  himself,  or  through  ad- 
herents, shipped  37,000  tons  of  food  stuffs  through 
the  port  of  Vera  Cruz  alone  and  got  the  golden 
dollars  for  it  and  put  them  in  his  pocket. 

"  I  myself  saw  three  carloads  of  potatoes,  the  last 
shipped  out  from  the  Guerrero  District  by  Mexican 
officials  and  sold  at  El  Paso,  Texas,  to  put  gold 
into  their  own  pockets,  while  the  people  who 
raised  these  potatoes  were  living  on  roots  or  dying 
of  starvation.  If  our  Government 'does  not  know 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  u 

these  conditions,  it  is  because  its  officials  will  shut 
their  eyes  and  their  ears." 

This  statement  has  never  been  challenged  and 
it  is  so  much  of  a  part  with  other  things  that  have 
been  done  by  the  Carranza  party  as  to  be  entirely 
worthy  of  belief. 

That  the  terrible  condition  of  the  masses  of 
Mexicans  depicted  in  the  reports  of  Red  Cross 
officials,  quoted,  still  continues  is  shown  by  an 
article  published  in  the  New  York  Sun  January 
29,  1918.  The  article  is  introduced  by  a  statement 
from  the  Editor  of  the  Sun  which  says : 

"  In  view  of  the  many  conflicting  reports  that 
have  come  out  of  Mexico  since  the  United  States 
declared  war  on  Germany,  the  Sun  sent  a  trained 
investigator  into  Mexico  from  Vera  Cruz.  His 
instructions  were  to  be  impartial  and  unbiased  in 
his  views  and  to  depict  the  situation  exactly  as  it 


In  the  article  in  question  the  investigator  of  the 

Sun  says: 

"  Mexico  City  is  full  of  starving  Indians,  insuffi- 
ciently clad  and  with  no  shelter  to  protect  them- 
selves at  night  to  escape  the  icy  winds  that  sweep 
down  from  the  encircled  snow-clad  mountains  when 
the  sun  goes  down.  They  huddle  together  for 
warmth  on  recessed  doorsteps,  passing  the  bitter 
night  in  a  physical  state  that  must  somewhat  ap- 


12  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

proach  that  of  the  hibernating  bear,  and  in  the 
morning  they  crawl  into  a  sunny  place  and  slowly 
thaw  into  life  again,  when  they  get  up  and  resume 
their  pathetic  quest  for  food.  They  mutely  appeal 
with  outstretched  hands  and  wistful  eyes  to  the 
passer-by,  and  there  are  legions  of  them." 

These  conditions  exist  at  the  present  time.  A 
gentleman  who  had  been  in  business  in  Mexico 
for  some  ten  years  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the 
Carranza  regime,  who  had  travelled  much  through- 
out the  country,  returned  there  late  last  fall,  to 
ascertain  what  present  conditions  were.  He 
visited  Mexico  City  and  other  points.  I  know 
this  gentleman  well,  and  can,  therefore,  vouch 
for  his  high  character,  and  reliability.  This  is 
the  substance  of  what  he  told  me : 

"  I  spent  several  weeks  in  October  and  Novem- 
ber, 1918,  in  and  around  Mexico  City,  a  locality 
I  have  known  intimately  for  years.  One  evening 
I  took  a  walk  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  what  condi- 
tions were  among  the  poor.  I  am  sure  that  on  that 
walk  I  saw  at  least  three  thousand  miserable  per- 
sons crouching  in  recessed  doorways  and  other 
places  that  offered  some  slight  protection  from  the 
wind.  They  were  lying  as  close  together  as  they 
could  get,  often  with  a  dog  in  the  centre  of  the  pile 
to  contribute  the  warmth  of  its  body.  They  were 
men,  women,  and  children.  Most  of  the  latter 
were  naked,  though  a  few  had  a  ragged,  dirty  rem- 
nant of  a  coat  or  pair  of  trousers  or,  perhaps, 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  13 

merely  a  piece  of  dirty  cloth.  The  older  persons 
were  dressed  in  rags.  In  all  the  years  I  have 
known  Mexico  City  I  had  never  before  seen  such  a 
sight. 

"While  in  the  city  I  met  a  Mexican  gentleman 
who  owned  a  large  hacienda  in  the  state  of  Guana- 
juato. He  told  me  that  in  order  to  provide  some 
employment  for  the  people  on  his  estate  to  keep 
them  from  starving  he  decided  to  have  an  improve- 
ment made  which  would  keep  a  couple  of  hundred 
men,  which  was  all  the  unemployed  there  were  on 
the  place,  busy  for  some  time.  The  news  spread 
quickly  that  work  was  to  be  had  on  the  hacienda, 
which  was  promptly  stormed  by  an  army  of  idle  and 
hungry  men.  Not  fewer  than  seven  thousand  men 
applied  for  work  on  a  job  that  was  only  meant  as  a 
makeshift  to  provide  bread  for  two  hundred. 
Some  of  these  applicants  were  so  reduced  by  priva- 
tion and  want  that  they  died  on  the  ranch,  having 
used  their  last  remaining  strength  to  reach  what 
they  hoped  was  a  chance  to  work." 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  wretched 
creatures  represent  the  "people"  of  Mexico;  the 
peon  population  whose  support  the  Carranza 
leaders  sought  and  secured  by  promises  to  make 
conditions  of  life  easier  for  them  than  they  ever 
had  been  under  former  governments. 

Some  time  ago  newspapers  in  Mexico  City  an- 
nounced that  a  small  revolution  had  been  started 
by  the  farmers  in  the  State  of.  Michoacan  because 
the  commanders  of  Carranza  troops  had  confis- 


I4  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

cated  the  food  the  farmers  had  raised,  and  had 
sold  it.  This  very  thing  has  been  done  in  numer- 
ous instances  throughout  Mexico  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Carranza  Government  as  was 
stated  by  Mr.  Cabrera  in  a  newspaper  article 
quoted  in  another  chapter. 

It  would  be  surprising  if  the  members  of  the 
Carranza  Government,  who  have  shown  such  dis- 
honesty in  their  dealing  with  private  possessions, 
should  refrain  from  exhibiting  the  same  spirit  in 
dealing  with  public  property.  That  they  have 
observed  no  such  restraint  is  shown  by  many  in- 
stances of  the  dishonesty  of  public  officials  that 
have  come  to  light. 

On  October  25,  1917,  an  editorial  appeared  in 
El  Universal,  the  leading  daily  of  Mexico  City, 
which  said  in  part : 

"The  transcendental  depth  of  the  bad  railway 
communications  with  the  consequent  uncertainty 
of  transport  of  passengers  and  merchandise  con- 
tinues to  be  one  of  the  gravest  problems  to  settle. 
Every  little  while  assaults  and  blowings  up  of 
freight  trains  occur.  The  scarcity  of  rolling  stock 
continues  and  more  than  anything  else,  the  im- 
moral exploitation  of  the  railways  by  employees 
and  military  chiefs  continues.  The  most  important 
route  which  connects  our  first  port  with  the  capital 
of  the  republic,  the  route  by  which  the  greater 
part  of  our  exportation  leaves  and  through  which 
almost  all  imported  products  from  Europe  come,  is 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  15 

the  least  safe  right  now.  By  what  perfected  tele- 
pathy, or  by  what  arts  of  marvellous  intuition,  do 
bombs  explode  exactly  under  the  trains  filled 
with  the  richest  and  most  abundant  of  high-priced 
goods? 

"These  distressing  reflections  come  up  again  to 
our  mind  when  we  remember  the  strange  circum- 
stances of  the  destruction  of  the  freight  train 
blown  up  a  short  time  ago  near  Atoyac.  The  loco- 
motive was  drawing  a  car  of  paper  belonging  to 
this  newspaper;  another,  the  property  of  the  Na- 
tional Paper  Company;  a  car  full  of  condensed 
milk;  others  with  valuable  cloths,  etc.  It  appears 
there  was  not  a  single  death  in  the  derailment  and 
from  data  received  up  to  now,  it  is  known  that  the 
rebels  got  little  or  no  result  from  their  attack.  We 
know  very  little  about  the  fortune  of  the  freight 
which  came  in  this  train  consigned  to  various  busi- 
ness houses  of  this  capital.  As  to  our  1 1 5  rolls  of 
paper,  we  have  been  informed  that  they  were  trans- 
ported almost  intact  to  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz  by  a 
secondary  military  authority  and  sold  there  to  mer- 
chants without  conscience  who  bought  them, 
knowing  the  crime  they  were  committing.  We 
have  proof,  for  our  special  representative  was 
present  at  the  investigation  ordered  by  the 
Governor  of  Vera  Cruz,  that  the  responsibility 
is  all  upon  the  military  authorities  of  the 
port. 

"  If  the  public  peace  requires  it,  it  is  well  that 
individual  guarantees  be  suspended  in  all  the 
country;  but,  if  the  military  authorities  are  going 
to  have  full  power,  what  will  proprietors,  merchants, 
industrial  people  do  when  their  goods  and  sup- 


16  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

plies  are  improperly  sequestered?  May  a  Major 
Chief  of  the  Line,  or  a  General  Chief  of  Garrison, 
dispose  of  private  property  without  the  owner  having 
the  right  to  protest?" 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  editor  who  thus  com- 
plains of  having  been  robbed  by  the  military  au- 
thorities'at  Vera  Cruz  of  his  1 15  rolls  of  paper  does 
not  say  that  he  recovered  his  property  or  that 
any  one  was  punished  for  the  theft. 

I  have  a  friend  who,  for  many  years  before  the 
Carranza  party  came  into  power,  was  engaged  in 
a  business  enterprise  in  the  City  of  Mexico  for 
which  he  imported  supplies  in  carload  lots  through 
Vera  Cruz.  The  business  which  he  conducted  was 
one  of  considerable  advantage  to  the  city  and  to 
the  Mexican  people. 

Some  time  ago  I  met  this  friend  in  this  country 
where  he  is  now  making  his  home.  He  said,  and 
his  high  character  guarantees  the  truthfulness  of 
his  statement,  that  shortly  after  the  Carranza 
party  secured  control  of  the  line  of  railway  be- 
tween Vera  Cruz  and  the  City  of  Mexico,  he  was 
required  by  the  management  to  pay  $300  per  car, 
in  addition  to  the  regular  freight  rate,  before  he 
could  secure  delivery  of  his  freight.  After  his 
cars  started  from  Vera  Cruz  they  would  disappear 
somewhere  on  the  line  and,  before  he  could  get 
them  delivered,  he  would  be  forced  to  pay  the 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  17 

bribe  demanded  by  the  operating  force  of  the 
railway.  The  amount  of  bribe  money  per  car 
increased  until  at  last  he  was  met  with"  the  de- 
mand for  $1,600  in  order  to  secure"  delivery  of  a 
car  of  freight.  This  he  paid  and  then  closed  up 
his  business  and  left  the  country,  as  he  found  it 
impossible  to  continue  under  such  exactions. 

El  Excelsior,  a  daily  newspaper  published  in 
Mexico  City,  in  its  issue  of  November  28,  1917, 
contained  the  following: 

"Under  the  pretext  of  modifying  the  law  of 
organization  of  departments  of  government, 
Deputy  Reynoso  began  yesterday  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  a  sensational  debate,  brilliantly 
ended  by  Sanchez  Ponton,  on  the  economic  man- 
agement of  the  railways.  According  to  these  and 
other  orators,  the  railway  officials  have  made  their 
hay  to  the  damage  of  the  public,  of  the  nation,  and 
of  the  credit  which  we  used  to  have  in  foreign  parts. 
The  orator  referred  to  the  deal  for  the  sale  of  waste 
material  made  a  short  time  ago  and  says  that  he 
can  prove  that  two-thirds  of  the  iron  and  steel 
sold  was  new  and  perfect.  Furthermore,  he  reads 
a  statement  of  from  January  to  June,  1917,  accord- 
ing to  which  there  were  238  railway  accidents  due 
to  negligence  of  the  employees  and  the  neglect  of 
old  track  repairment  by  Pescador,  Director  General 
of  Railways. 

"The  Secretary  read  documents  to  prove  that 
baggage  and  other  railway  matters  are  controlled 
by  a  brother-in-law  of  Pescador  from  which  damage 
and  delays  of  passengers  result.  *  *  * 


i8  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

"Sanchez  Ponton  read  the  contract  made  be- 
tween Pescador  and  the  Senator  General  Nafaratte 
for  the  sale  of  so-called  waste  material  at  $10  per 
ton  and  observes  that  the  business  was  so  good  for 
the  purchasers  that  the  same  Senator  Nafarette 
ceded  his  rights  for  four  pesos  per  ton  and  that  the 
two  gentlemen  who  figured  as  accomplices  in  the 
operation  did  the  same  thing. 

"He  continues  making  charges  against  certain 
other  people  on  account  of  divers  contracts  as  bad 
as  that  just  cited  and  especially  refers  to  one  in 
which  70  pesos  per  ton  was  paid  for  steel  belonging 
to  the  national  railways/' 

El  Universal  of  the  same  date,  in  its  account  of 
the  proceedings  in  the  Mexican  Congress,  contains 
the  following: 

"Among  other  charges  by  Deputy  Reynoso 
made  against  Pescador,  the  worst  is  relating  to  a 
sale  of  a  great  lot  of  so-called  old  iron  at  $10  per 
ton  when  he  states  the  fact  is  that  three-fourths  of 
this  iron  was  new  iron  and  that  in  it  were  180 
wheels  and  axles  from  Monterey."  *  *  * 

"  Deputy  Ponton  read  a  copy  of  a  contract  made 
between  Senator  General  Nafaratte  and  Messrs. 
Salazar  and  Maples,  by  means  of  which  the  first 
of  said  gentlemen  transferred  his  rights  to  the 
second  in  a  purchase  made  from  the  constitutional- 
ist railways  of  20,000  tons  of  old  iron  at  $  10  per  ton. 
Nafaratte  charged  4  pesos  for  each  ton  as  a  profit  in 
the  transfer.  Later  Ponton  read  a  copy  of  the 
Certificate  of  Incorporation  of  the  company  organ- 
ized by  a  brother  of  the  railway  auditor,  the  first 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  19 

assistant  to  the  director  and  the  treasurer  of  the 
company,  a  company  dedicated,  as  the  confession 
in  its  circulars  states,  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
freight  cars  to  those  who  need  them. 

"  He  also  cited  a  deal  for  the  sale  of  rails  at  70 
pesos  per  ton  when  they  cannot  at  present  be  pur- 
chased at  140  pesos  and  said  that  payments  were 
not  received  in  money  but  in  very  bad  and  very 
costly  ties. 

"  He  also  states  that  when  metallic  money  began 
to  circulate  again,  the  great  majority  of  railway 
employees  were  paid  a  determined  amount  in  notes 
for  a  stated  period;  certain  persons  bought  these 
notes  at  a  discount  of  25, 50, 60,  and  even  75  per  cent, 
and  when  almost  all  of  the  notes  had  been  cornered, 
the  order  was  given  to  pay  them,  from  which  an 
enormous  amount  of  money  was  made." 


We  thus  see  that  General  Nafaratte,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  members  of  the  Carranza  ad- 
ministration, in  a  deal  made  for  government  prop- 
erty, secured  a  profit  amounting  to  4  pesos  per  ton 
on  20,000  tons  of  iron  by  merely  permitting  his 
name  to  be  used,  and  that  it  was  freely  charged  in 
the  Mexican  Congress  that  the  poor  employees  of 
the  national  railways  had  been  speculated  upon 
to  a  shameful  extent  in  the  payment  of  their  wages 
by  the  government. 

It  is  commonly  said  in  Mexico  that  the  Villa 
and  Zapata  forces  operating  against  Carranza 
secure  their  ammunition,  and  sometimes  their 


20  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

arms,  by  purchase  from  the  commanders  of  the 
Carranza  troops.  On  November  2,  1917,  El 
Universal  contained  the  following  from  a  corres- 
pondent at  Puebla  under  date  of  October  31  : 

"The  Chief  of  the  military  operations  in  the 
state  has  decided  to  open  proceedings  against  the 
chiefs  of  forces  in  charge  of  the  garrisons  near  the 
zone  not  yet  controlled  by  the  government,  who  are 
accused  of  the  very  grave  crime  of  being  in  con- 
nivance with  the  enemy  to  whom  they  furnish 
war  supplies  in  exchange  for  articles  easily  sold 
which  the  Zapatistas  introduce  to  the  regions  in 
which  they  operate. 

"The  accusations  made  to  the  superior  military 
authorities  were  made  by  members  of  the  Mexican 
brigade  '  Hidalgo/  which  was  under  the  orders  of 
General  Segura  and  which  now  is  converted  into  a 
regiment.  Officers  and  troops  of  said  corps  in- 
formed General  Villasenor  that  Col.  Patrinos  and 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Torres,  chiefs  of  forces  operat- 
ing in  the  Atlixco  District,  had  established  a  crim- 
inal trade  with  the  Zapatistas  marauding  around 
said  city;  the  trade  consisting  in  the  interchange 
of  hides  and  copper,  products  of  Zapata  raids,  for 
ammunition  and  other  war  supplies  which  the 
supreme  government  puts  into  the  hands  of  the 
army  for  the  defense  of  our  institutions." 

In  its  issue  of  June  5,  1918,  El  Excelsior  pub- 
lished the  following  news  item : 

"  In  round  numbers  the  amount  stolen  from  the 
Federal  Treasury  by  paymasters  now  consigned  to 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  21 

the  authorities  is  close  to  600,000  pesos.  There 
are  37  cases  before  the  District  Court  of  the  Capi- 
tal. The  amount  for  which  the  paymasters  on 
trial  appear  to  be  responsible  is  the  sum  before 
mentioned,  or,  to  be  absolutely  exact,  585,000 
pesos.  In  addition  there  are  other  cases  before  the 
Circuit  Court,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Justice  and  the 
District  Courts  of  the  states.  From  the  data  at 
hand,  a  moderate  estimate  of  the  sum  involved  in 
these  cases  would  be  400,000  pesos.  However,  we 
lack  the  exact  data  to  give  a  detailed  account  of 
these  cases. 

"With  regard  to  the  cases  pending  before  the 
four  District  Courts  of  Mexico,  two  proprietory 
and  two  supplementary,  we  have  the  following 
information/'  *  *  * 


The  paper  then  proceeds  to  give  the  names  of 
the  thirty-seven  defaulting  army  paymasters 
referred  to  with  the  amount  which  each  is  accused 
of  having  stolen.  The  list  is  too  long  for  publica- 
tion here,  but  it  may  be  stated  that  the  amounts 
run  from  500  pesos  to  180,000  pesos. 

The  foregoing  instances  of  grafting  are  merely 
illustrative  of  the  scope  and  extent  of  the  public 
robbery^  perpetrated  by  the  members  of  the  Ca- 
rranza  government. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  shows  the 
total  revenue  and  expenditures  of  the  National 
Government  of  Mexico  for  the  fiscal  year  1909- 


22  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

1910,  the  last  year  of  the  Diaz  regime,  in  United 
States  dollars  as  follows: 

Revenue $52,952,000 

Expenditures 47,324,000 

Out  of  this  payment  was  made  of  the  interest 
on  the  national  debt  and  on  railroad  bonds;  the 
national  railroads  were  kept  in  excellent  physical 
condition,  and  all  obligations  of  the  government 
were  met. 

It  is  also  of  interest  to  note  that  during  the  last 
fifteen  years  of  the  Diaz  regime,  there  was  a  sur- 
plus of  national  revenue  amounting  to  $73, 500, 999, 
of  which  $36, 500,000  was  devoted  to  public  works, 
the  remainder  of  $37,ooo;ooo  being  used  to  form 
a  part  of  the  available  cash  holdings  of  the  National 
Treasury  which  existed  when  Diaz  went  out  of 
power.  The  same  statistical  authority  shows 
the  national  revenues  and  expenditures  of  the 
Carranza  government  during  the  fiscal  year  1914- 
1915  to  have  been  (in  U.  S.  dollars): 

Revenue $72,687,000 

Expenditures 75,798,000 

It  may  be  well  to  call  attention  specifically  right 
here  to  the  fact,  although  it  is  made  plain  in  these 
pages,  that  this  increase  of  twenty  million  dollars 
in  the  revenues  as  compared  with  the  Diaz  regime 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  23 

does  not  indicate  a  healthy  growth  in  commerce 
and  industry,  but  quite  the  reverse.  The  national 
revenues  are  raised  chiefly  by  confiscation  rather 
than  by  a  just  tax  on  prosperous  business.  Fur- 
thermore, it  must  be  noted  that  the  national  ex- 
penditures do  not  include  a  cent  for  the  payment 
of  interest  or  principal  of  the  national  debt.  They 
could  not  have  included  any  considerable  sum  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  railways  for  the  reason 
that  since  the  Carranza  administration  began 
operating  them  there  has  been  a  constant  deteriora- 
tion of  rolling  stock  and  permanent  way  until 
to-day  there  are  barely  enough  engines  and  cars 
remaining  in  use  to  operate  intermittently  the 
most  important  two  lines.  Large  mining  and 
commercial  interests  are  compelled  to  furnish  their 
own  rolling  stock  in  order  to  secure  service. 

It  will  be  noted  in  the  following  table  that 
120,755,631  pesos,  or  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
budget,  is  assigned  to  the  Department  of  War 
and  Marine,  which,  of  course,  means  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  army.  There  is  no  provision  made 
for  the  payment  of  interest  on  the  public  debt 
and  nothing  for  education  beyond  an  item  as- 
signed to  the  "Bureau  of  University  and  Fine 
Arts";  nothing  for  the  education  of  the  common 
people  who  had  been  promised  such  liberal  educa- 
tional advantages  by  the  Carranza  party  before  it 
came  into  power. 


24  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

The    Federal    appropriations    passed    by    the 
Mexican  Congress  for  1918  were  as  follows: 


PESOS 

Legislative  Power 2,967,858.75 

Executive  Power 1,064,577.20 

Judicial  Power 1,552,258.00 

Department  of  Government  .     .  1,280,428.50 

Department  of  Foreign  Affairs   .  3,362,591 .50 

Department  of  Finance  and  Pub- 
lic Credit  20,213,094.40 

Department  of  War  and  Marine .  1 20,75  5 ,63 1 . 65 

Department  of  Agriculture  and 

Fomento 7,005,683.00 

Department  of  Communication 

and  Public  Works  .  .  .  21,382,229.65 

Department  of  Industry  and 

Commerce 2,831,384.00 

Bureau  of  University  and  Fine 

Arts 2,269,301 .00 

Bureau  of  Public  Health  .     .     .  1,898,396.50 

Office  of  Attorney  General  of  the 

Nation 549,888.50 


TOTAL 187,133,322.65 

In  a  statement  published  in  the  Washington 
Star,  October  31,  1917,  from  a  person  described  as 
Charles  A.  Douglas,  "Counsellor  in  the  United 
States  for  the  Mexican  Government,  who  returned 
to  Washington  this  week  after  a  month's  stay  in 
Mexico,"  the  following  appears: 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  25 

"Order  is  being  slowly  but  surely  restored. 
Barring  exceptional  train  robberies  and  small  sore 
spots  in  the  states  of  Morales  and  Durango,  condi- 
tions are  approaching  normal  everywhere.  *  *  * 

"The  recently  and  intelligently  revised  system 
of  education  is  in  full  operation  from  the  common 
free  schools  all  over  the  Republic  to  the  National 
University  at  the  capital.  *  *  * 

"The  work  of  railroad  rehabilitation  is  illumi- 
nating7  More  than  12,000  freight  cars  and  loco- 
motives were  destroyed  down  to  their  steel  frames 
during  the  Revolution.  They  are  now  running  at 
full  blast  eight  or  ten  workshops  located  in  various 
sections  of  the  Republic,  giving  work  to  1 1 ,000 
employees  and  the  cars  are  being  rebuilt  wholly 
at  home  at  the  rate  of  4,000  per  annum." 

Compare  the  foregoing  with  the  following  from 
a  report  of  the  debate  in  the  Mexican  Chamber  of 
Deputies  on  the  suspension  of  constitutional 
guaranties  published  in  El  Universal  of  Mexico 
City,  October  17,  1917,  at  which  time  Mr.  Douglas 
must  have  been  in  the  Mexican  capital,  according 
to  the  Washington  Star,  in  which  Luis  Cabrera, 
who  at  that  time  was  second  in  importance  in  the 
Carranza  administration,  is  quoted  as  saying: 

"To  commence  a  review  of  the  determining 
factors  of  this  present  situation  I  must  at  once 
refer  to  our  delicate  economic  situation.  And  I 
put  it  in  the  first  place  because  we  all  know  that  in 
politics  success  comes  with  money  and  there  can  be 


26  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

no  success  without  money.  *  *  *  We  have  de- 
stroyed the  banks  because  they  opposed  the  revo- 
lution but  now  shall  we  say  'We  are  done;  give  us 
your  bills  again?'  No;  we  will  not  do  it.  We  have 
destroyed  the  railways  because  it  was  necessary 
to  do  it  to  combat  the  military  enemy.  Very 
well;  now  what  we  have  to  do  is  to  repair  the 
railways  so  that  the  blood  of  prosperity  of  the 
country  may  begin  to  circulate  again  over  them, 
for  without  ways  of  communication  we  can  do 
absolutely  nothing.  *  *  Our  political  obli- 
gation toward  attacks  on  train  and  highway 
robbery  is  to  study  them  to  see  if  they  are  inde- 
pendent or  if  there  is  some  cause  which  unites 
them.  *  *  *  Does  the  army  exist?  Yes.  Does 
the  Villa  movement  exist?  Yes,  it  exists  and  it 
must  be  extirpated  ruthlessly.  Does  the  Zapata 
movement  exist?  Yes,  the  Zapata  movement 
covers  exactly  the  large  grant  which  Charles  V  as- 
signed to  Marquis  Del  Valle:  Morelos,  Puebla, 
Tlaxcala,  Oaxaca  and  Chiapas." 

The  places  named  by  Mr.  Cabrera  as  the  locale 
of  the  Zapata  movement  are  five  Mexican  states. 
His  statement  harmonizes  with  other  facts  adduced 
in  this  chapter,  all  tending  to  show  the  existence 
of  a  condition  very  far  from  that  described  in  the 
Washington  Star  article. 

Regarding  the  "recently  and  intelligently  re- 
vised system  of  education,"  which  according  to 
the  Counsellor  for  the  Mexican  Government,  "is  in 
full  operation,  from  the  common  free  schools  all 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  27 

over  the  Republic  to  the  National  University  at 
the  capital,"  the  following  excerpt  from  El  Ex- 
celsior, of  Mexico  City,  for  December  21,  1918, 
will  be  found  illuminating: 


"One  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  three  hun- 
dred eleven  children  of  school  age  in  the  Federal 
District  are  receiving  no  instruction  at  all.  This 
figure,  which  is  all  the  more  significant — and  dis- 
couraging— in  that  it  relates  to  a  section  which  is 
usually  considered  the  most  cultured  of  the  Re- 
public, has  been  taken  from  the  statistical  data 
just  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Education. 

"The  present  census  gives  the  Federal  District 
a  population  of  approximately  1,000,000  inhabi- 
tants. Applying  the  generally  accepted  rule 
which  gives  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  to 
children  of  school  age,  there  should  be  200,000 
such  children  in  the  Federal  District. 

"The  school  census  taken  at  the  opening  of  the 
present  year — which  was  unquestionably  deficient 
in  several  respects — shows  an  enrolment  of  89,689 
children,  thus  leaving  1 16,31 1  children  who  are  re- 
ceiving no  instruction  at  all.  These  figures,  which 
offer  much  food  for  thought,  bring  out  strikingly 
the  backwardness  of  education  as  compared  with 
former  years. 

"In  1910,  when  the  population  of  the  Federal 
District  according  to  the  census  of  that  year,  was 
720,752,  the  school  enrolment  was  86,896,  a  dif- 
ference of  less  than  3,000,  with  a  population  of 
300,000  less  than  in  the  present  year. 

"But  even  more  recent  years  have  shown  a 


28  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

larger  school  attendance  than  for  the  year  just 
closed.  Thus,  in  1917  the  attendance  reached 
104,038,  that  is  to  say,  21,000  more  pupils  than 
there  are  to-day. 

"  If  we  turn  now  to  the  number  of  schools,  here 
again  we  find  a  remarkable  difference.  In  1910, 
the  following  schools  were  open:  Grade  Schools 
332;  Higher  Grade  Schools  40;  Night  Schools 
(Extension  Schools)  42;  Kindergarten  5 — total  419. 

"During  the  year  just  closed  the  following 
schools  were  open:  Grade  Schools  270;  Higher 
Grade  Schools  60;  Night  Schools  (Extension 
Schools)  42;  Kindergartens  1 1 — total  382. 

"It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  to-day  with  a 
larger  population  the  Federal  District  has  36  less 
schools  than  it  had  in  1910. 

"The  number  of  teachers  assigned  to  the  382 
schools  that  were  open  during  the  past  year  was 
1980,  of  whom  826  were  Normal  School  graduates, 
335  certified  teachers,  and  819  were  without  any 
certificate  at  all. 

"The  budget  for  last  year,  which  covered  the 
Federal  District,  and  the  territories  of  lower 
California,  Tepic,  and  Quintana  Roo,  assigned 
13,000,000  pesos  to  educational  purposes.  The 
budget  for  1919,  covering  only  the  Federal  Dis- 
trict, carries  only  5,500,000,  distributed  as  follows: 
For  the  City  of  Mexico  2,971,634;  for  the  munici- 
palities exclusive  of  the  city,  955,455;  for  the 
Bureau,  1,817,385." 


One  of  the  gravest  charges  brought  by  the 
Carranza  revolutionists  against  their  predecessors 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  29 

and  most  strongly  insisted  upon,  was  that  proper 
provision  had  not  been  made  for  the  education 
of  the  masses  of  the  Mexican  people.  The 
Carrancistas  pledged  themselves  to  afford  ample 
facilities  for  popular  education,  as  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  reforms  which  they  were  to  institute. 
Notwithstanding  this,  we  find  that,  although  the 
population  of  the  capital  city  of  Mexico  has  in- 
creased nearly  50  per  cent,  since  1910,  the  last 
year  of  the  Diaz  administration,  there  is  to-day 
in  the  Federal  District  containing  the  City  of 
Mexico,  37  fewer  schools  than  existed  in  1910. 
Furthermore,  while  the  Carranza  budget  for  last 
year  for  education  in  the  federal  district  and  ter- 
ritories was  1 3,000,000  pesos,  the  national  budget 
for  education  for  1919  carried  only  5,500,000 
pesos.  This,  of  course,  means  that  the  public 
revenues  are  being  so  fully  absorbed  by  the  graft- 
ing officers  of  the  army  which  keeps  Carranza  in 
power,  that  little  is  left  for  popular  education. 
The  failure  of  the  Carranza  regime  to  live  up  to 
its  promises  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  its 
declared  annual  income  is  46,000,000  pesos  larger 
than  was  that  of  the  Diaz  administration. 

Propaganda  publications  maintained  in  Wash- 
ington by  the  Carranza  government  assure  the 
public  in  almost  every  number  that  peaceful  con- 
ditions throughout  all  the  territory  of  Mexico  are 
nearly  or  quite  restored.  Notwithstanding  all 


30  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

this  it  appears  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
national  appropriation  for  the  year  1918  has  been 
devoted  to  maintaining  the  military  power. 

To  all  who  understand  conditions  in  Mexico, 
this  means  that  the  heads  of  the  army  are  being 
bribed,  at  the  cost  of  the  public,  to  maintain  the 
Carranza  element  in  power,  and  that  the  leaders  of 
that  party  are  prepared  to  sacrifice  the  country 
and  its  people  in  every  way  so  long  as  they  may 
retain  the  reins. 

While  the  Carranza  government  is  devoting 
nearly  two-thirds  of  the  national  revenue  to  the 
army,  recent  reports  show  how  the  mass  of  the 
people  are  faring  and  what  is  being  done  for  their 
benefit.  An  American  business  man  of  high 
character  who  had  just  returned  from  a  trip 
through  Mexico  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  whether 
it  was  possible  to  reopen  an  important  public- 
service  undertaking  in  the  City  of  Mexico  which 
had  necessarily  been  discontinued  shortly  after 
the  Carranza  forces  took  possession  of  that  city, 
writing  under  date  of  March  21,  1918,  reported 
the  following  among  other  things: 

"  Our  train  left  Laredo,  Mexico,  on  time,  Febru- 
ary 17,  and  the  trip  was  very  pleasant  from  there 
until  we  reached  San  Luis,  from  which  point  it  was 
necessary  that  we  be  accompanied  by  an  armoured 
train  and  on  asking  the  reason  for  this  we  were 
informed  that  the  country  thereabouts  was  in- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  31 

fested  with  bandits,  so  much  so  that  it  was  unsafe 
to  travel  save  in  this  way.  An  armoured  car  was 
attached  to  the  rear  of  the  Pullman.  In  this  way 
we  got  through  without  any  mishap.  The  train 
that  went  to  the  city  the  day  previous  was  de- 
tained for  five  hours  while  the  bandits  were  being 
driven  into  the  hills. 

"As  you  know,  the  national  railways  of  Mexico 
pass  through  a  very  rich  agricultural  section  of  the 
republic  and  this  is  the  season  of  the  year  when  the 
ranchers  should  be  busy  planting  their  crops.  On 
the  entire  trip  we  did  not  see  a  single  man  in  the 
fields  getting  ready  for  spring  planting  and  saw  that 
very  little  fall  wheat  had  been  sown.  The  crop  this 
year  from  that  section  of  the  Republic  will  be  very 
small.  In  addition  to  the  above  we  did  not  see 
more  than  one  hundred  head  of  cattle  grazing  on 
the  entire  trip. 

"During  the  first  day  in  the  city  we  were  sur- 
prised by  the  number  of  people  on  the  streets  and 
were  told  that  the  city  and  its  suburbs  now  had  a 
population  of  one  million  people,  and  that  the  cities 
of  Vera  Cruz  and  Guadalajara  had  populations  of 
sixty-five  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
people,  respectively.  This  condition  is  brought 
about  by  the  fact  that  it  is  not  safe  for  them  to  live 
out  in  the  country  and  work  their  farms.  This 
great  influx  of  people  has  caused  rents  and  food- 
stuffs to  increase  in  price,  or  as  it  was  expressed, 
there  is  a  large  consumption  here  and  no  produc- 
tion. 

"The  railroads  of  the  country  are  all  in  control 
of  the  government.  The  trains  that  run  to  Laredo 
and  Vera  Cruz  are  being  run,  and  will  be  run,  at  all 


32  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

hazards  to  the  extent  of  the  Carranza  control. 
Trains  to  Laredo  run  every  day  and  those  to  Vera 
Cruz  run  about  five  days  each  week.  This  ir- 
regularity is  due  to  rebel  activities  in  the  vicinity 
of  Ometusco. 

"The  train  equipment  on  these  two  roads  is 
kept  in  good  shape  due  to  the  fact  that  all  of  the 
equipment  of  the  railroads  of  the  Republic  is  con- 
centrated on  the  two  lines.  Up  to  the  present 
time,  when  the  equipment  was  getting  to  be  in  bad 
shape,  the  government  would  confiscate  another 
railroad  and  replenish,  but  now  they  have  taken 
over  their  last  road  and  the  source  of  supply  will 
soon  be  exhausted.  To  show  how  the  railroad 
equipment  has  deteriorated,  let  us  state  the  fol- 
lowing facts : 

"The  Mexican  railroad  had  in  its  service  100 
engines.  After  nine  months'  operation  by  the 
government  of  Mexico,  there  are  only  30  of  these 
engines  that  are  fit  for  service.  Of  the  equip- 
ment of  nationally  owned  lines,  at  least  ninety 
per  cent,  is  in  the  yards  along  the  lines.  Aguasca- 
lientes  yard  has  288  broken-down  engines,  San 
Luis  231,  and  all  the  other  small  yards  are  full. 
Steel  for  the  repairing  of  the  tracks  is  being  se- 
cured from  the  old  Central  Railroad  of  Mexico. 

"The  Mexico  City  of  to-day  is  not  the  Mexico 
City  of  six  years  ago.  At  that  time,  the  people 
looked  better,  the  streets  were  cleaner,  the  pave- 
ments were  in  good  condition,  the  foreigners  were 
all  busy  and  provided  employment  for  all  the 
Mexican  people  who  wanted  to  work.  Their 
homes  were  kept  up  in  good  shape  and  showed 
evidences  of  prosperity  and  wealth.  None  of  this 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  33 

exists  now;  just  the  reverse,  and  it  is  plain  to  the 
casual  observer  that  the  present  state  of  affairs  can 
easily  be  traced  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  several 
parties  which  have  ruled  the  country  during  the 
elapsed  time. 

"  Not  a  single  one  of  the  several  rebel  chiefs,  who 
have  been  in  power,  can  be  said  to  represent  the 
wishes  of  the  Mexican  people.  They  do  represent 
a  small  faction  and  all  of  the  laws  made  and  en- 
forced in  that  time  have  been  for  the  benefit  of  the 
officials  and  their  friends  and  not  for  the  people. 

"The  present  officials  are  taxing  the  people 
much  above  the  taxes  of  former  years.  They  are 
collecting  more  money  but  they  are  not  paying 
their  employees.  School  teachers  in  the  City  of 
Mexico  have  not  been  paid  for  months.  Clerks 
in  the  employ  of  the  government  are  receiving  half 
pay.  But  they  do  not  fail  to  pay  the  excessive 
salaries  of  the  generals  and  a  few  subordinates 
who  are  so  much  in  evidence  in  the  streets,  riding 
around  in  high-priced  automobiles. 

"  The  generals  and  their  subordinates  in  Mexico 
City  are  the  only  government  employees  who  are 
receiving  full  pay.  This  pay  is  increased  by  graft 
secured  on  army  business,  so  that  thousands  of 
dollars  are  expended  by  each  one  in  the  purchase 
of  automobiles  and  the  entertainment  of  disreput- 
able characters.  This  was  so  marked  that  a  history 
of  the  subject  was  published  in  El  Universal,  which 
antagonized  the  army  officials  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  editor  of  this  paper  was  thrown  into  jail 
where  he  was  kept  for  more  than  a  month.  Need- 
less to  say,  the  article  did  not  have  the  desired 
effect  as  the  dissipation  increased  rather  than  de- 


34  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  ' 

creased.     If  such  a  thing  is  possible,  it  is  getting 
worse  every  day." 

Another  description  of  conditions  up  to  the 
end  of  June,  1918,  is  furnished  by  a  gentleman  who 
had  resided  in  Mexico  City  during  all  of  the  revolu- 
tionary period  until  the  latter  part  of  last  June. 
He  is  a  newspaper  man  of  experience,  a  trained 
observer,  familiar  by  years  of  life  in  Mexico  with 
the  people  of  the  country  and  the  conditions  which 
prevail.  His  character  is  so  high  that  I  am  con- 
vinced that  he  is  entitled  to  the  fullest  credence. 
He  says: 

"According  to  newspapers,  entirely  friendly  to 
the  Carranza  administration,  literally  thousands 
of  government  employees  have  been  dismissed,  in- 
cluding not  only  clerks  in  the  government  depart- 
ments but  school  teachers  and  railway  men  as  the 
railways  of  the  country  are  being  operated  by  the 
government.  Even  entire  government  bureaus 
have  been  abolished.  There  is  retrenchment 
everywhere  along  the  line  except  in  one  depart- 
ment of  the  government — the  military  establish- 
ment. The  significance  of  this  fact  is  not  to  be 
overlooked. 

"In  El  Universal,  a  Mexico  City  newspaper 
now  owned  by  prominent  officials  of  the  Mexican 
Government  and  entirely  friendly  to  Carranza,  a 
good  bird's-eye  view  of  the  situation  in  Mexico 
is  given  in  an  editorial  published  June  5,  1918. 
The  editorial  seeks  to  remonstrate  with  certain  rail- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  35 

road  employees  for  protesting  against  a  govern- 
ment order  that  their  wages  should  be  paid  75 
per  cent,  in  cash  and  the  remainder  in  government 
promises  to  pay  to  be  redeemed  in  actual  cash 
'when  there  is  an  improvement  in  the  economic 
circumstances  that  prevail  at  present/  The  editor 
says: 

"'The  argument  [of  the  employees]  is  based  on 
a  falsehood,  namely,  that  the  weight  of  this  policy 
of  economy  will  fall  solely  on  the  working  men  of 
the  Mexican  Railway.  The  truth  is  that  the 
weight  of  this  policy  of  economy  has  been  felt  for 
some  time  past  by  social  classes  just  as  important  as 
the  Mexican  Railway  workmen.  The  facts  are 
much  too  recent  to  call  for  repetition.  Who  is 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  many  government  bur- 
eaus have  been  closed  because  of  the  policy  of  econ- 
omy? Thousands  of  school  teachers  have  been  dis- 
missed; thousands  of  government  employees  have 
been  discharged,  even  in  the  railways,  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  personnel  cannot  be  called  slight. 

" '  Did  not  the  newspapers  of  yesterday  or  the  day 
before  state  that  nine  hundred  railway  men,  who  had 
been  dismissed  from  their  jobs,  were  going  to  the 
United  States?' 

"There  is  great  suffering  among  the  lower  classes 
from  lack  of  food  and  the  pangs  of  hunger  are  not 
unknown  among  the  middle  classes.  Beggars, 
always  numerous  in  Mexico,  have  multiplied  ten- 
fold. In  Mexico  City,  beggars  are  constantly  at 
the  entrances  of  all  the  restaurants  of  any  size  and 
persons  going  in  and  out  are  importuned  for  char- 
ity. Waiters  lave  to  keep  constantly  on  the  alert 
to  prevent  beggars  in  their  filthy  rags  from  entering 


36  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

the  restaurants  and  begging  bits  of  food  from  persons 
dining  at  the  tables.  In  the  central  streets  of  tbe 
capital  at  night,  it  is  a  common  sight  to  see  doorways 
heaped  with  boys  and  girls  of  tender  age,  sleeping 
huddled  together  for  warmth,  often  with  a  dog  or  two 
in  the  pile. 

"Excessive  prices  of  corn  and  beans  make  it 
almost  impossible  for  the  poorer  classes  to  use 
them  and  the  middle  classes,  whose  wages  have 
been  only  slightly  increased,  if  increased  at  all,  are 
in  even  greater  straits  as  they  have  to  maintain  an 
appearance  of  respectability. 

"As  a  class,  perhaps,  there  has  been  no  greater 
suffering  than  among  the  school  teachers.  In 
some  of  the  states,  there  were  instances  where  the 
teachers  in  the  public  schools  had  not  been  paid  for 
four  or  five  months.  In  Mexico  City  even,  it  was 
frequently  the  case  that  their  pay  was  a  month  or 
more  in  arrears. 

"  Under  the  Mexican  system,  they  should  receive 
their  pay  every  ten  days,  there  being  three  pay  days 
to  the  month.  Due  to  the  characteristic  Mexican 
custom  of  living  from  day  to  day,  the  passing  of 
even  one  pay  day  was  a  serious  matter,  causing 
suffering  and  with  the  pay  constantly  in  arrears, 
teachers,  as  a  class,  were  almost  always  in  a  state 
of  not  knowing  where  their  next  meal  was  to  come 
from. 

"  I  was  told  by  a  former  Mexican  public  school 
teacher,  who  is  now  working  in  a  private  institu- 
tion, that  she  frequently  met  her  old  friends  on  the 
street  and  that  their  constant  story  was  that  of 
suffering  and  want.  She  said  that  at  first  she  hesi- 
tated to  offer  them  money  but  having  made  the 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  37 

experiment  once,  she  never  hesitated  again.  She 
said  that  tie  offer  of  a  peso  or  a  half  peso  brought 
tears  of  gratitude  to  the  eyes  of  the  recipient  and  often 
a  confession  of  not  having  tasted  food  for  twenty-four 
hours  or  longer.  These  were  teachers  coming  from 
the  respectable  middle  class,  and  even  in  some  cases, 
from  former  wealthy  families  of  the  upper  classes, 
and  only  extreme  necessity  would  have  brought  them 
to  the  point  of  accepting  alms. 

"  In  the  state  of  Zacatecas  months  passed  with- 
out the  school  teachers  being  paid  and  during  the 
teachers'  convention  at  the  state  capital,  for  the 
purpose  of  registering  a  general  protest,  statements 
were  made  that  teachers  had  pawned  all  their  furni- 
ture and  other  household  goods,  and  in  many  cases, 
actually  were  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  One  man 
teacher  stated  that  he  had  just  lost  a  child  because 
he  could  not  by  any  possible  means  obtain  money 
to  buy  certain  foods  which  the  attending  physician 
had  declared  were  necessary  to  save  the  child's  life. 

"In  the  states  and  in  the  capital  teachers  of 
many  years'  experience  have  abandoned  their 
positions  and  sought  other  means  of  making  a 
living,  often  being  forced  into  menial  employ- 
ment. 

"  In  travelling  from  Mexico  City  to  the  Ameri- 
can border  one  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with 
the  number  of  beggars  at  the  stations  as  the  train 
proceeds  through  the  central  Mexican  states  and, 
with  the  added  fact  that,  as  the  American  border  is 
approached,  the  beggars  are  less  numerous  and 
finally  disappear  altogether. 

"A  typical  condition  is  described  in  the  following 
note  from  the  San  Luis  Potosi  correspondent  of 


38  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

El  Excelsior,  one  of  the  leading  Mexico  City  news- 
papers: 

" '  San  Luis  Potosi,  June  2 — A  great  affluence  of 
beggars  has  been  noted  in  different  parts  of  the 
city  for  some  days  past,  especially  in  the  paseos  and 
central  streets.  Passers-by  are  literally  assaulted 
by  these  beggars — sometimes  there  are  entire 
families  of  them — who  appeal  to  the  charity  of 
the  public.  The  sights  presented  by  these  persons, 
in  addition  to  being  repugnant,  are  highly  im- 
moral, as  many  of  them,  including  men,  women,  and 
children,  exhibit  themselves  in  the  public  highways 
in  a  condition  which  lacks  hut  little  of  complete  naked- 
ness, often  a  serious  danger  to  the  public  health  on  ac- 
count of  the  filthy  condition  of  the  rags  which  but 
half  cover  them.' 

"The  Mexican  army  is  Carranza's  salvation  and 
at  the  same  time  is  his  greatest  danger.  Estimates 
as  to  the  actual  force  sunder  arms  vary  from  fifty 
to  seventy-five  thousand,  the  observer  stating  that 
the  pay  rolls  probably  show  double  the  number 
given  in  their  estimates.  This  army  is  the  biggest 
drain  on  the  Carranza  treasury;  it  is  keeping  the 
federal  government  in  a  state  of  bankruptcy,  and 
yet  so  widely  spread  are  revolutionary  activities 
in  Mexico  that  the  maintenance  of  such  a  force  is 
necessary. 

"The  Carranza  income  is  larger  than  that  of  the 
Diaz  government  and  could  he  reduce  army  graft 
even  fifty  per  cent,  his  problem  of  making  the  in- 
come meet  disbursements  would  be  comparatively 
easy. 

"On  June  18,  1918,  El  Universal  published  the 
following: 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  39 

" '  We  were  informed  yesterday  from  an  author- 
ized source  that  in  the  new  budget  the  federal 
government  is  preparing,  the  salaries  assigned  to 
government  employees  will  be  seventy-five  per 
cent,  of  that  they  now  receive.  At  present  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  salary  is  being  paid  in  cash  and 
twenty-five  per  cent,  in  bonds  but,  in  the  new 
budget,  the  salary  basis  will  be  seventy-five  per 
cent,  of  that  now  in  effect/ 

"It  is  virtually  impossible  for  Carranza  to  stop 
graft  and  keep  a  loyal  army.  This  is  more  espe- 
cially the  case  when  one  remembers  that  some  of  the 
leading  generals  with  the  most  important  com- 
mands in  the  country  are  earning  very  modest 
salaries  and  living  at  the  proverbial  clip  of  Pitts- 
burgh millionaires  despite  the  fact  that  they  had  no 
private  fortunes  before  joining  the  Carranza  move- 
ment." 

The  criminal  waste  of  public  funds  by  public 
officials  in  Mexico  City  at  the  present  time  is 
mentioned  in  the  article  from  the  New  York  Sun, 
previously  referred  to,  in  the  following  language: 

"Mexico  City  wears  an  awful  aspect  and  the 
awfulness  is  accentuated  by  the  contrast  between 
the  dark,  filthy  patios,  in  which  the  starving  peons 
huddle  and  the  palaces  built  by  ihe  'Cientificos'  of 
the  Dial  ^gime  where  the  Carrancista  officials  now 
hold  obscene  orgy.  Carranza  himself  has  chosen  the 
magnificent  residence  at  95  Paseo  de  la  Reforma  as 
Ms  private  residence.  Each  general  has  his  own 
picked  troop  to  guard  his  residence  and  a  military 
band  to  entertain  him." 


40  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

It  is  evident,  judging  from  all  reliable  informa- 
tion, that  the  Carranza  party  has  violated  its 
pledges  to  the  people  of  Mexico  as  completely  as 
the  pledges  of  its  leaders  to  the  United  States  and 
the  civilized  world  were  violated. 

While  generals  of  the  army  are  permitted  to  rob 
the  public  funds  and  pursue  a  career  of  shameless 
dissipation  and  extravagance,  the  employees  of 
the  railroads  have  their  wages  reduced;  the  school 
teachers  remain  without  their  pay  and  are  forced 
to  resign  their  positions  by  thousands;  the  civil 
employees  of  the  government  are  dismissed  and 
departments  closed  while  important  business  re- 
mains unattended  to.  The  country  is  filled  with 
beggars,  and  people  are  dying  by  the  thousands 
for  lack  of  the  necessities  of  life. 

The  experience  of  the  masses  of  the  people  under 
the  government  given  the  major  portion  of  Mexico 
by^the  Carranza  party  furnishes  a  striking  parallel 
to  that  of  the  Russians  at  the  hands  of  the  Bol- 
sheviki.  In  every  country  there  exists  a  predatory 
element  whose  chief  ambition  it  is  to  secure  con- 
trol of  the  machinery  of  government  by  violence 
and  then  to  use  it  in  depriving  industrious,  frugal 
people  of  the  property  they  have  accumulated,  and 
dividing  it  among  themselves.  This  element  is 
represented  in  Mexico  by  the  Carranza  party, 
in  Russia  by  the  Bolsheviki,  and  in  the  United 
States  by  the  I.  W.  W. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  41 

In  Mexico  the  destruction  of  productive  industry 
by  the  greed  of  this  party  has  deprived  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  the  citizens  of  the  chance  of 
making  a  living  and  has  brought  indescribable 
miseries  upon  that  country.  Dispatches  day  by 
day  for  the  last  year  have  told  the  story  of  similar 
conditions  in  Russia,  brought  about  by  the  actions 
of  the  Bolsheviki.  By  their  plots  for  burning 
harvest  fields,  grain  elevators,  factories  of  various 
kinds,  and  destroying  animals,  the  I.  W.  W.  have 
shown  that  they  would  do  the  same  thing  if  they 
should  ever  succeed  in  securing  control  of  our 
country  as  the  Carranza  party  has  in  Mexico  and 
the  Bolsheviki  in  Russia. 

The  fact  that  in  each  country  these  predatory 
elements  have  been  the  tools  of  Germany,  have 
accepted  her  money,  done  her  criminal  bidding, 
and  in  every  way  shown  their  sympathy  for  that 
country  and  its  malignant  purpose,  to  thwart 
which  the  Allies  have  expended  the  lives  of  millions 
of  their  citizens  and  billions  of  money,  presents  a 
peculiar  psychological  situation.  Surely,  the  evi- 
dent sympathy  of  these  criminal  classes  in  each 
country  with  Germany  can  be  accounted  for  only 
on  the  theory  that  it  is  an  expression  of  that 
"fellow  feeling  which  makes  us  wondrous  kind." 


CHAPTER  II 

Character  of  tie  Carranza  Revolutionary  Party  Constitut- 
ing the  Recognised  Government  of  Mexico — The  Relations 
Established  with  tie  United  States  and  the  Rest  ojibeWorU 

THE  character  of  the  Carranza  revolution- 
ary party  may  be  judged  by  the  record  of 
negotiations  between  its  representatives 
and  our  own  Department  of  State  and  by  its  acts 
in  conducting  the  recognized  government  of 
Mexico.  Some  of  the  most  important  of  these 
negotiations  are  set  forth  in  U.  S.  Senate  Docu- 
ment No.  321,  entitled  "Affairs  in  Mexico." 
The  relations  established  by  the  Carranza  regime 
with  the  United  States  Government  and  with  other 
nations  are  shown  by  the  communications  con- 
tained in  that  document.  Still  more  illuminating  is 
the  record  made  by  the  Carranza  government 
by  its  treatment  of  foreigners,  especially  Americans. 
The  information  contained  in  Senate  Document 
No.  321  was  elicited  by  a  resolution  adopted  by 
the  Senate  on  January  6,  1916,  which  was  in  part 
as  follows: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President  be  requested,  if 
not  incompatible  with  the  public  interests,  to  in- 
42 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  43 

form  the  Senate  upon  the  following  subjects  and 
to  transmit  to  the  Senate  the  documents,  letters, 
reports,  orders,  and  so  forth,  hereinafter  referred 
to: 

"First.  Is  there  a  government  now  existing  in 
the  Republic  of  Mexico;  and  if  so, 

"Second.  Is  such  government  recognized  by 
this  Government;  how  is  such  government  main- 
tained, and  where;  who  is  now  the  recognized  head 
of  such  government,  and  is  the  same  a  constitu- 
tional government? 

"  Third.  By  what  means  was  the  recognition  of 
any  government  in  Mexico  brought  about,  and 
what  proceedings,  if  any,  were  followed  prior  to 
and  resulting  in  recognition,  in  any  conference 
between  this  country  and  Argentine,  Brazil,  Chile, 

Guatemala,  and  any  other  country  or  countries? 
*  *  * 

"Sixth.  What  assurances  have  been  received 
from  the  Mexican  Government,  or  requested  by  this 
Government,  as  to  payment  of  American  damage 
claims  for  injury  to  life  or  property  of  our  citizens 
resulting  from  the  acts  of  Mexico  or  citizens  of  that 
country  within  the  past  five  years? 

"Seventh.  What  assurances  have  been  given 
by  the  Mexican  Government  as  to  the  protection 
of  foreigners  and  citizens,  and  particularly  in  the 
free  exercise  of  their  religion,  in  public  or  in  pri- 
vate?" 


In  response  to  this  resolution,  the  President,  on 
February  17,  1916,  transmitted  to"  the  Senate  a 
letter  to  himself  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  at- 


44  '          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

tached  to  which  were  various  documents  to  which 
the  Secretary  refers.  In  this  letter  the  Secretary 
says  [the  italics  throughout  are  the  author's] : 

"(i)  The  government  at  present  existing  in 
Mexico  is  a  de  facto  government  established  by 
military  power  which  has  definitely  committed  itself 
to  the  holding  of  popular  elections  upon  the  restora- 
tion of  domestic  peace. 

"(2)  This  de  facto  government  of  Mexico,  of 
which  General  Venustiano  Carranza  is  the  chief 
executive,  was  recognized  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  on  October  19,  1915.  *  *  * 

"It  cannot  be  said  that  the  de  facto  govern- 
ment of  Mexico  is  a  constitutional  government. 
The  de  facto  government,  like  the  majority  of 
revolutionary  governments  is  of  a  military  char- 
acter, but,  as  already  stated,  that  government  has 
committed  itself  to  the  holding  of  elections,  and  it  is 
confidently  expected  that  the  present  government  will, 
within  a  reasonable  time,  be  merged  in  or  succeeded 
by  a  government  organised  under  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  Mexico.  *  *  * 

"  (6)  With  regard  to  the  settlement  of  Ameri- 
can claims  against  the  Mexican  Republic  for  in- 
juries to  the  lives  or  property  of  American  citizens, 
the  undersigned  has  the  honour  to  direct  your  at- 
tention to  the  copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Arredondo 
(the  de  facto  government's  agent  in  Washington), 
dated  October  7,  1915,  and  its  enclosures  hereto- 
fore referred  to  and  hereto  appended  as  Enclosure 
No.  4  and  its  annexes. 

"  (7)    With  reference  to  the  assurances  given  by 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  45 

the  Mexican  Government  concerning  the  protec- 
tion of  foreigners  and  'citizens/  particularly  re- 
specting the  free  exercise  of  religion,  the  under- 
signed encloses  herewith  a  letter  on  the  subject 
from  Mr.  Arredondo,  dated  October  8,  1915,  (En- 
closure No.  7)." 

In  Mr.  Arredondo's  letter,  referred  to  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  as  Enclosure  No.  4,  appears 
the  following: 

"Mr.  Venustiano  Carranza,  depositary  of  the 
executive  power  of  Mexico,  whom  I  have  the 
honour  to  represent  in  this  country,  has  author- 
ized me  to  say  to  your  Excellency  that  his  public 
declarations  of  December  12,  1914,  and  June  n, 
1915,  bear  the  statement  that  the  government  he 
represents  in  its  capacity  of  a  political  entity, 
conscious  of  its  international  obligations  and  of  its 
capability  to  comply  with  them,  has  afforded  guaran- 
ties to  the  nationals  and  has  done  likewise  with  regard 
to  foreigners  and  si  all  continue  to  see  that  their  lives 
and  property  are  respected  in  accordance  with  the 
practices  established  by  civilised  nations  and  the 
treaties  in  force  between  Mexico  and  other  coun- 
tries. That  besides  the  above,  he  will  recognifo 
and  satisfy  indemnities  for  damages  caused  by  the 
revolution  which  shall  be  settled  in  due  time  and  in 
terms  of  justice." 

Mr.  Arredondo's  letter  was  accompanied  by  a 
number  of  documents,  referred  to  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  as  "annexes."  The  first  of  these,  in 


46  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

order  of  date,  is  entitled  "Plan  of  Guadalupe" 
and  appears  to  be  the  declaration  of  principles 
upon  which  the  Carranza  revolution  was  founded. 
This  declaration  is  dated  March  26,  1913,  and 
purports  to  have  been  signed  by  sixty-four  officers 
of  the  troops  of  the  state  of  Coahuila  with  which 
Carranza,  then  governor  of  that  state,  began  his 
revolution  against  the  Huerta  government,  which 
had  succeeded  the  murdered  Francisco  Madero. 
In  this  "Plan  of  Guadalupe"  appears  the  following; 

"Whereas  the  legislative  and  judicial  powers 
have  recognized  and  protected  General  Huerta 
and  his  illegal  and  anti-patriotic  proceedings  con- 
trary to  constitutional  laws  and  precepts;  *  *  * 
we,  the  undersigned,  chiefs  and  officers  command- 
ing the  constitutionalist  forces,  have  agreed  upon 
and  shall  sustain  with  arms  the  following: 

"i.  General  Victoriano  Huerta  is  hereby  re- 
pudiated as  President  of  the  Republic.  *  *  * 

"4.  For  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  army 
which  is  to  see  that  our  aims  are  carried  out,  we 
name  Venustiano  Carranza,  now  governor  of  the 
state  of  Coahuila,  as  first  chief  of  the  army  which 
is  to  be  catted  'Constitutionalist  Army.' 

"  5.  Upon  the  occupation  of  the  City  of  Mexico 
by  the  Constitutionalist  Army,  the  executive  power 
shall  be  vested  in  Venustiano  Carranza,  its  first 
chief,  or  in  the  person  who  will  substitute  him  in 
command. 

"6.  The  provisional  trustee  or  the  executive 
power  of  the  Republic  shall  convene  general  elec- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  47 

tions  as  soon  as  peace  may  have  leen  restored  and  will 
surrender  power  to  the  citizen  who  may  have  been 
elected." 


Accompanying  the  letter  of  Mr.  Arredondo  was 
a  document  entitled  "Resume  of  the  Mexican 
Constitutionalist  Revolution  and  Its  Progress/' 
of  which  Mr.  Arredondo  was  the  author,  in  which, 
after  reciting  the  deaths  of  President  Madero  and 
Vice-President  Suarez  and  their  succession  in 
power  by  General  Huerta,  he  says: 


"  Mr.  Venustiano  Carranza,  upon  being  apprised 
of  the  above-mentioned  outrageous  assault  and  of 
the  infringement  of  the  federal  constitution  and  acting 
in  his  capacity  of  the  governor  of  the  state  of 
Coahuila  and  in  fealty  to  the  oath  he  had  taken  upon 
entering  into  the  performance  of  his  high  investiture 
to  preserve  and  cause  all  others  to  observe  the  federal 
constitution  and  to  guard  its  institutions  repudiated 
•the  aforesaid  General  Huerta  as  President  of 
Mexico  and  initiated  that  which  has  been  named 
as  'The  Revolution  of  the  Constitutionalist 
Party/" 


Mr.  Arredondo  also  transmitted  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  as  an  "annex"  to  his  letter,  a  document 
entitled  "Decree  of  General  Carranza"  dated 
December  12,  1914,  which  was  signed  by  General 
Carranza  and  in  which  the  following  occurs: 


48  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

"  That  the  undersigned,  in  his  capacity  as  consti- 
tutional governor  of  the  state  of  Coahuila,  Lad 
solemnly  taken  the  oath  to  observe  and  cause  the 
general  constitution  to  be  observed,  and  that  comply- 
ing with  this  duty  and  of  the  above  oath,  he  was  in- 
evitably obliged  to  arise  in  arms  to  oppose  the 
usurpation  of  Huerta  and  to  restore  constitutional 
order  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico.  *  *  * 

"That,  it  being  imperative,  therefore,  that  the 
interruption  of  constitutional  order  should  sub- 
sist during  this  new  period  of  struggle,  the  Plan 
of  Guadalupe  should,  therefore,  continue  to  be  in 
force,  as  it  has  been  the  guidance  and  banner  of  it, 
until  the  enemy  may  have  been  overpowered  com- 
pletely in  order  that  the  constitution  may  be  re- 
stored. *  *  * 

"Article  4.  Upon  the  success  of  the  revolution 
when  the  supreme  chieftainship  may  be  established 
in  the  City  of  Mexico  and  after  the  elections  for 
municipal  councils  in  the  majority  of  the  states 
in  the  republic,  the  first  chief  of  the  revolution,  as 
depository  of  the  executive  power,  shall  issue  the 
call  for  election  of  congressmen,  fixing  in  the  call  the 
date  and  terms  in  which  the  election  shall  be  held/' 

Mr.  Arredondo  also  transmitted  with  his  letter 
an  "annex"  entitled  "Declaration  to  the  Nation/' 
signed  by  V.  Carranza,  dated  June  n,  1915,  in 
which  the  following  occurs: 

"Treason  was  carried  into  effect  by  General 
Huerta  under  the  pretext  of  saving  the  City  of 
Mexico  from  the  horrors  of  war.  *  *  *  The. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  49 

President  and  Vice-President  were  assassinated 
and,  due  to  the  complicity  or  weakness  of  the 
other  powers,  the  nation  was  left  without  a  consti- 
tutional representative.  Then  I,  as  governor  of 
the  state  of  Coahuila,  and  in  obedience  to  the  consti- 
tutional provisions,  articles  121  and  1 28  of  our  funda- 
mental charter,  assumed  the  representation  of  the 
republic  in  the  terms  in  which  the  constitution 
itself  vests  me  with  this  right,  and  supported  by  the 
people  which  rose  in  arms  to  regain  its  liberty. 
In  fact,  the  above-mentioned  articles  provide  the 
following: 

"'Every  public  dfficer,  without  exception,  prior 
to  his  taking  possession  of  his  charge,  shall  render 
an  oath  that  he  will  sustain  the  constitution  and  the 
laws  emanating  therefrom.  This  constitution  shall 
not  fail  in  force  or  vigour,  even  though  on  account  of 
rebellion  its  observance  may  he  interrupted.  In  the 
case  that  pursuant  to  a  public  disturbance  a  gov- 
ernment contrary  to  the  principles  sanctioned  by 
the  constitution  may  be  established,  as  soon  as 
the  people  regains  its  freedom  its  observance  shall 
he  reestablished  and,  according  to  it  and  to  the 
laws  which  by  virtue  of  it  may  have  been  enacted, 
those  who  may  have  figured  in  the  government 
emanated  from  the  rebellion  shall  be  tried  as  well  • 
as  those  who  may  have  cooperated  in  the  move- 
ment/ *  *  * 

"With  a  mew  to  realising  the  above-mentioned 
purposes,  I  have  deemed  proper  to  inform  the  na- 
tion upon  the  political  conduct  to  be  observed 
by  the  constitutionalist  government,  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  program  of  social  reform  con- 
tained in  the  decree  of  December  12,  1914." 


jo  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

"First.  The  constitutionalist  government  shall 
afford  to  foreigners  residing  in  Mexico  all  the  guar- 
anties to  which  they  are  entitled  according  to  our 
laws,  and  shall  amply  protect  their  lives,  their  free- 
dom, and  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights  of  property  t 
allowing  them  indemnities  for  the  damages  which 
the  revolution  may  have  caused  to  them,  in  so  far  as 
such  indemnities  may  be  just  and  which  are  to  be 
determined  by  a  procedure  to  be  established  later. 
The  government  shall  also  assume  the  responsibility 
of  legitimate  financial  obligations.'9  *  *  * 

Fourth.  There  shall  he  no  confiscation  in  con- 
nection with  the  settlement  of  the  agrarian  question. 
This  problem  shall  be  solved  by  an  equitable 
distribution  of  the  lands  still  owned  by  the  gov- 
ernment; by  the  recovery  of  those  lots  which  may 
have  been  illegally  taken  from  individuals  or  com- 
munities; by  the  purchase  and  expropriation  of 
large  tracts  of  land,  if  necessary;  by  all  other  means 
of  acquisition  permitted  by  the  laws  of  the  coun- 
try." *  *  * 

"Seventh.  In  order  to  establish  the  constitu- 
tional government,  the  government  by  me  pre- 
sided shall  observe  and  comply  with  the  provisions 
of  articles  4,  5,  and  6  of  the  decree  of  December 
12,  1914." 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  two  documents  en- 
titled respectively  "  Decree  of  General  Carranza," 
dated  December  12,  1914,  and  "Declaration  to 
the  Nation/'  signed  by  V.  Carranza,  dated  June 
n,  1915,  were,  when  they  were  issued,  given  the 
widest  possible  circulation  in  this  country,  as  well 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  51 

as  abroad,  with  the  intention,  undoubtedly,  of 
appealing  to  the  sympathy  and  support  of  our 
country  and  the  world  for  the  declared  effort  of  the 
Carran^a  revolutionists  to  restore  the  constitution 
in  its  full  force  and  thereby  give  to  Mexico  a  govern- 
ment which  should  safeguard  the  rights  of  her  own 
people,  as  well  as  of  foreigners.  These  documents, 
undoubtedly,  had  that  effect  among  people  who 
knew  the  Mexican  constitution  of  1857,  referred 
to  in  them,  as  being  an  admirable  organic  law  for 
the  foundation  of  a  democratic  government. 

The  "  Inclosure  No.  7,"  referred  to  in  paragraph 
7  of  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  the 
President  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Arredondo  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  dated  October  8,  1915,  as 
follows: 

"Mr  DEAR  MR.  LANSING:  Complying  with 
your  Excellency's  request  asking  me  what  is  the 
attitude  of  the  constitutionalist  government  in  re- 
gard to  the  Catholic  Church  in  Mexico,  I  have  the 
honour  to  say  that  inasmuch  as  the  reestablishment 
of  peace  within  order  and  law  is  the  purpose  of 
the  government  of  Mr.  Venustiano  Carranza,  to 
the  end  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico  without 
exception,  whether  nationals  or  foreigners,  may 
equally  enjoy  the  benefits,  of  true  justice,  and 
hence  take  interest  in  cooperating  to  the  support 
of  the  government,  the  laws  of  reform,  which  guar- 
antee individual  freedom  of  worship  according  to 
everyone's  consciencet  shall  be  strictly  observrd. 


52  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Therefore  the  constitutionalist  government  will 
respect  everybody's  life,  property  and  religious  be- 
liefs without  other  limitation  than  the  preserva- 
tion of  public  order  and  the  observance  of  the 
institutions  in  accordance  with  the  laws  in  force 
and  the  constitution  of  the  republic. 

"Hoping  that  I  may  have  honoured  your  ex- 
cellency's wishes,  I  avail  myself  of  this  opportun- 
ity to  reiterate  to  you  the  assurances  of  my  highest 
consideration 

"E.  ARREDONDO." 

There  was  also  included  in  the  report  to  the 
Senate  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  State 
to  Mr.  Arredondo,  dated  October  19,  1915,  as 
follows : 

"Mv  DEAR  MR.  ARREDONDO:  It  is  my  pleasure 
to  inform  you  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  takes  this  opportunity  of  extending  recog- 
nition to  the  de  facto  government  of  Mexico,  of 
which  Gen.  Venustiano  Carranza  is  the  chief 
executive. 

"The  Government  of  the  United  States  will  be 
pleased  to  receive  formally  in  Washington  a  diplo- 
matic representative  of  the  de  facto  government 
as  soon  as  it  shall  please  General  Carranza  to  desig- 
nate and  appoint  such  representative;  and,  re- 
ciprocally, the  Government  of  the  United  States 
will  accredit  to  the  de  facto  government  a  diplo- 
matic representative  as  soon  as  the  President  has 
had  opportunity  to  designate  such  representa- 
tive, i 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  53 

"  I  should  appreciate  it  if  you  could  find  it  pos- 
sible to  communicate  this  information  to  General 
Carranza  at  your  earliest  convenience. 

"Very  sincerely  yours, 

"ROBERT  LANSING." 


The  foregoing  correspondence  between  Mr. 
Arredondo,  the  agent  of  the  Carranza  revolution- 
ists at  Washington,  and  our  Secretary  of  State 
plainly  shows  two  things: 

First,  that  our  Government,  trusting  in  the 
pledges  contained  in  the  communications  of  Mr. 
Arredondo  to  it  and  in  the  various  declarations  of 
General  Carranza,  conferred  upon  the  constitu- 
tionalist revolutionary  party,  headed  by  General 
Carranza,  recognition  as  "the  de  facto  government 
of  Mexico  of  which  General  Venustiano  Carranza 
is  the  chief  executive." 

Second,  that  when  the  Secretary  of  State  in  his 
letter  to  the  President  referred,  in  paragraphs  6 
and  7  of  that  letter,  to  Mr.  Arredondo's  letters 
of  October  7,  1915,  and  October  8,  1915,  with 
annexes  quoted  from,  he  intended  that  those 
should  be  accepted  as  an  answer  to  the  inquiries 
appearing  in  paragraphs  6  and  7  of  the  Senate 
resolution,  as  to  what  assurances  had  been  re- 
ceived from  the  Mexican  Government  regarding 
the  payment  of  damages  for  injury  to  the  life  or 
property  of  American  citizens;  the  protection  of 


54  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

foreigners  and  citizens  in  Mexico,  and  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion. 

The  final  outcome  of  the  pledges  that  the  per- 
sonal, property,  and  religious  rights  of  foreigners 
in  Mexico  would  be  observed  by  the  Carranza 
Government  that  were  iterated  and  reiterated  by 
the  head  of  that  government,  and  by  its  represen- 
tative in  Washington,  appeared  when  the  new 
constitution  of  Mexico  was  adopted  by  the 
Carranza  party  on  January  31,  1917.  An  inspec- 
tion of  that  instrument  shows  that  every  pledge 
made  by  the  representatives  of  the  de  facto,  since 
recognized  as  the  de  jure,  government  was  delib- 
erately and  completely  violated.  The  record 
made  by  the  Carranza  administration  since  the 
adoption  of  that  constitution  in  dealing  with  the 
rights  of  foreigners  has  shown  a  consistent  and 
continued  violation  of  all  those  rights.  To  show 
how  completely  the  pledges  of  the  Carranza  gov- 
ernment were  broken  by  the  new  constitution,  a 
reference  to  a  few  of  the  provisions  of  that  docu- 
ment will  be  appropriate. 

THE   MEXICAN   CONSTITUTION   OF    1917 

It  will  be  observed  that  General  Carranza,  as 
the  head  of  what  he  and  his  followers  had  denom- 
inated the  "Constitutional  Party  of  Mexico," 
repeatedly  made  the  pledge  that  as  soon  as  he  was 
established  in  the  City  of  Mexico  he  would  issue 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  55 

a  call  for  the  election  of  Congressmen.  The  record 
shows  that  he  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  To  the 
contrary,  as  soon  as  he  found  himself  in  control  of 
the  City  of  Mexico  in  the  summer  of  1914  he  de- 
clared a  "preconstitutional  period/'  setting  aside 
the  constitution  he  had  claimed  he  fought  to  restore 
and  in  the  fall  of  1915  he  issued  a  call  for  a  consti- 
tutional convention  whose  functions  it  should  be 
to  enact  for  Mexico  a  constitution  de  novo  in  com- 
plete disregard  of  the  constitution  of  1857  to  which 
he  and  his  adherents  had  pledged  unlimited  fealty 
in  communications  addressed  to  our  country  and 
to  the  world. 

To  show  just  how  completely  this  action  of  the 
Carranza  party  violated  the  rights  of  the  Mexican 
people,  it  should  be  observed  that  the  constitution 
of  1857  was  adopted  by  the  vote  of  representatives  of 
all  the  Mexican  people,  whereas  when  General 
Carranza  issued  his  call  for  the  election  of  delegates 
to  a  constitutional  convention  several  states  of  the 
republic  were  in  no  sense  under  his  control  and  his 
writ  calling  the  election  did  not  run  in  those  states. 

This  fact  is  well  known  to  everyone  acquainted 
with  the  conditions  which  obtained  in  Mexico 
at  that  time  and  if  any  additional  proof  were 
needed  it  is  found  in  the  fact  that  shortly  after 
the  constitution  was  adopted,  Mr.  Cabrera,  the 
Secretary  of  Finance  under  Carranza,  stated  on 
the  floor  of  the  Mexican  Congress  that  the  five 


56  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

states  of  Tlaxcala,  Puebla,  Morelos,  Oaxaca,  and 
Chiapas  were  entirely  under  the  control  of  oppo- 
nents of  the  Carranza  government.  Furthermore, 
in  his  call  for  the  election,  First  Chief  Carranza 
expressly  provided  that  the  elective  franchise  should 
he  exercised  only  by  those  citizens  who  were  known 
to  have  been  the  supporters  of  his  revolutionary  party. 

Thus,  we  have  the  spectacle  of  the  chief  of  a 
movement  which  he  denominated  the  "Constitu- 
tional Party/'  pledged  to  the  restoration  of  the 
constitution  of  1857,  deliberately  throwing  that 
instrument  upon  the  scrap  heap  and  assuming  to 
enact  a  new  constitution  for  the  whole  Mexican 
nation  by  a  convention  whose  members  did  not 
represent  several  states  of  the  Mexican  federal 
union  and  were  in  no  sense  the  representatives  of 
all  the  citizens  even  in  the  states  in  which  the 
election  was  held,  because,  by  the  very  terms  of 
the  writ  calling  the  election,  a  large  number  o* 
those  citizens  were  disfranchised.  It  has  been 
stated,  and  I  believe  truly,  that  the  votes  cast  for 
delegates  represented  less  than  2  per  cent,  of  the 
population. 

A  glance  at  some  of  the  provisions  of  this  new 
constitution  will  show  how  completely  it  violated, 
in  every  possible  way,  the  pledges  that  had  been 
made  to  our  Government  and  the  rest  of  the  world 
by  the  Carranza  party.  Section  XIV  of  Article 
27  of  the  new  constitution  provides: 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  57 

"Commercial  stock  companies  shall  not  acquire, 
bold,  or  administer  rural  property.  Companies  of 
this  nature  which  may  be  organized  to  develop  any 
manufacturing,  mining,  petroleum,  or  other  in- 
dustry, excepting  only  agricultural  industries,  may 
acquire,  hold,  or  administer  land  only  in  an  area  ab- 
solutely necessary  for  their  establishments  or  ade- 
quate to  serve  the  purposes  indicated,  which  the  ex- 
ecutive of  the  union,  or  of  the  respective  states,  in  each 
case,  shall  determine." 


Almost  all  large  real  estate  holdings  of  foreigners 
in  Mexico  in  the  form  of  ranches,  coffee  and  rubber 
plantations,  and  great  projects  for  the  irrigation  of 
arid  lands  were  held  by  corporations  regularly 
organized  under  the  laws  as  they  had  existed  under 
the  constitution  of  1857.  It  w^l  be  noted  that 
by  the  terms  of  the  foregoing  provision  it  is  made 
impossible  for  any  corporation  to  hold  any  rural 
or  agricultural  property,  and,  as  a  result,  under  a 
strict  construction  of  this  provision,  many  great 
properties  belonging  to  foreigners,  and  particularly 
to  Americans,  are  to-day  without  legal  ownership. 

Furthermore,  so  far  as  manufacturing,  mining, 
petroleum,  and  other  industries  of  that  nature 
are  concerned,  the  executives  of  the  nation  and  of 
the  respective  states  are  given  the  arbitrary  author- 
ity to  determine  what  extent  of  lands  are  "ab- 
solutely necessary"  to  carry  on  their  business 
and  to  divest  them  of  all  other  lands.  No  appeal 


58  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

is  provided  against  the  exercise  of  this  most 
despotic  power.  No  one  who  is  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  character  of  the  men  who  have  come 
into  office  under  Carranza  can  for  a  moment 
suppose  that  the  great  majority  of  them  will 
neglect  such  an  opportunity  for  robbing  the  foreign 
owners  of  mining  and  petroleum  properties  either 
by  arbitrarily  taking  from  them  the  larger  or  more 
valuable  part  of  their  holdings  or  by  extorting 
money  from  them  by  threats  of  exercising  this 
power. 

In  the  same  Article  27  is  found  the  following 
provision,  relating  to  mineral  deposits,  including 
petroleum: 

"  In  the  nation  is  vested  direct  ownership  of  all 
minerals  or  substances  which  in  veins,  layers, 
masses,  or  beds  constitute  deposits  whose  na- 
ture is  different  from  the  components  of  the  land, 
such  as  minerals  from  which  metals  and  metaloids 
used  for  industrial  purposes  are  extracted;  beds 
of  precious  stones,  rock  salt,  and  salt  lakes  formed 
directly  by  marine  waters;  products  derived  from 
the  decomposition  of  rocks,  when  their  exploita- 
tion requires  underground  work;  phosphates  which 
may  be  used  for  fertilizers;  solid  mineral  fuels; 
petroleum  and  all  bydro-carbons-v-solid,  liquid,  or 
gaseous." 

Under  the  national  laws  formerly  in  force, 
"solid  mineral  fuels;  petroleum  and  ill  hydro- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  59 

carbons— solid,  liquid  or  gaseous"  were  the  prop- 
erty of  the  owners  of  the  lands  in  which  they  ex- 
isted. Under  this  law  the  title  to  the  petroleum 
deposits  as  well  as  to  coal  mines,  was  acquired  by 
foreigners  who  invested  their  money  in  the  develop- 
ment of  these  great  natural  resources  which  had 
been  neglected  for  four  hundred  years  by  the  Latin 
masters  of  the  country.  Thus,  at  a  stroke  of  the 
pen,  all  these  great  deposits  of  natural  wealth, 
which  had  been  bought  and  paid  for  by  their 
foreign  owners,  are  confiscated  and  the  ownership 
transferred  to  the  nation. 

The  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Carranza  govern- 
ment to  assert  the  national  ownership  of  these 
petroleum  deposits  has  recently  called  forth  a 
letter  of  protest  from  our  ambassador  at  Mexico 
City.  In  this  letter  the  position,  entirely  correct 
under  international  law,  is  taken  that  the  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  new  Mexican  constitution  to 
transfer  the  ownership  of  the  oil  deposits,  that  had 
been  acquired  by  American  citizens  by  purchase, 
to  the  Mexican  nation  is  a  violation  of  international 
law  which  works  great  injustice  to  our  citizens 
and  can  not  be  tolerated.  This  matter  is  now 
under  discussion,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that,  unless  the  Carranza  government  is  compel- 
led by  the  sternest  attitude  on  the  part  of  this 
nation  to  hold  its  hand,  this  robbery  will  be  con- 
summated. 


60  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Section  VII  of  Article  27  of  the  new  constitution 
provides,  as  follows: 

"  During  the  next  constitutional  term,  the  Con- 
gress and  the  state  legislatures  shall  enact  laws, 
within  their  respective  jurisdictions,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  out  the  division  of  large  landed 
estates,  subject  to  the  following  conditions: 

"(a)  In  each  state  and  territory  there  shall 
be  fixed  the  maximum  area  of  land  which  any  one 
individual  or  legally  organized  corporation  may 
own. 

"  (b)  The  excess  of  the  area  thus  fixed  shall  be 
subdivided  by  the  owner  within  the  period  set  by 
the  laws  of  the  respective  locality;  and  these  sub- 
divisions shall  be  offered  for  sale  ON  SUCH  CON- 
DITIONS AS  THE  RESPECTIVE  GOVERN- 
MENTS SHALL  APPROVE,  in  accordance  with 
the  said  laws. 

"  (c)  If  the  owner  shall  refuse  to  make  the  sub- 
division, this  shall  be  carried  out  by  the  local  gov- 
ernment by  means  of  expropriation  proceedings. 

"(d)  The  value  of  the  subdivisions  shall  be 
paid  in  annual  amounts  sufficient  to  amortize  the 
principal  and  interest  within  a  period  of  not  less 
than  twenty  years,  during  which  the  person  ac- 
quiring them  may  not  alienate  them.  The  rate  of 
interest  shall  not  exceed  5  per  cent,  per  annum. 

"(e)  The  owner  shall  be  BOUND  TO  RE- 
CEIVE BONDS  OF  A  SPECIAL  ISSUE  to  guar- 
antee the  payment  of  the  property  expropri- 
ated. With  this  end  in  view,  the  Congress  shall 
issue  a  law  authorizing  the  states  to  issue  bonds  to 
meet  their  agrarian  obligations." 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  61 

Thus,  machinery  has  been  prepared  by  which 
the  amount  of  real  property  owned  by  any  individ- 
ual or  corporation  may  be  limited  and  the  owner 
may  be  forced  to  accept  for  all  exc^ss^real_estaLte 
which  he  owns  prices  fixe3^y"TEe  ^tate,  in  jState 
Bonds,  which  at  t he '"presenTTime' would  certainly 
not  be  worth  the  paper  on  which  they  were  printed. 

The  new  constitution  has  proved  so  successful 
as  an  instrumentality  for  robbery  and  spoliation 
that  its  makers  and  administrators  have  been 
encouraged  to  amend  it  so  as  to  extend  very  greatly 
its  usefulness  for  acquiring  without  compensation 
the  property  of  individuals  and  corporations. 
To  that  end,  President  Carranza,  on  December 
14,  1918,  submitted  to  the  Mexican  Congress 
a  proposed  amendment  to  the  confiscatory  Article 
27  of  the  constitution  heretofore  referred  to.  A 
part  of  the  amendment  provides  that  paragraph 
3  of  Article  27,  as  amended,  shall  read  as  follows: 


"The  nation  shall  have  at  all  times  the  right 
to  impose  upon  private  property  such  limitations 
as  the  public  interest  may  demand,  as  well  as 
the  right  to  regulate  the  development  of  such  nat- 
ural resources  as  are  susceptible  of  appropriation, 
in  order  to  conserve  them  and  equitably  to  dis- 
tribute the  public  wealth.  Establishments  or 
concerns  of  private  ownership,  having  a  general 
interest,  whether  belonging  to  single  individuals 
or  to  associations  or  persons,  shall  not  be  closed 


62  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

on  account  of  lockouts,  strikes,  or  any  other  like 
reason,  without  the  authority  of  the  executive  who 
shall  be  empowered  to  administer  them  whenever, 
in  his  judgment,  the  suspension  or  closing  of  op- 
eration may  prejudice  the  interest  of  society  or 
the  demands  of  the  public  service.  So  soon  as  the 
difficulties  which  have  brought  about  govern- 
mental administration  shall  have  disappeared, 
the  government  shall  return  to  the  owners,  or 
their  lawful  representatives,  the  establishments 
that  have  been  intervened,  and  the  net  proceeds 
obtained  therefrom  during  the  official  adminis- 
tration. Establishments  or  concerns  of  public 
interest  shall  be  deemed  to  be  those  having  to  do 
with  communication  by  railroad,  telegraph,  tele- 
phone, ocean  cable,  radio-telegraph,  radio-tele- 
phone and  tramway;  places  for  the  sale  of  drugs 
and  medicines;  light  companies;  undertaking 
establishments;  municipal  water  and  sanitation 
enterprises;  the  mining  industry,  including  both 
the  extraction  and  the  treatment  of  ore;  agri- 
cultural establishments;  cotton  mills,  and  all 
other  concerns  which  are  analogous  in  the  opinion 
of  the  executive." 


Just  how  the  power  that  would  be  granted  by 
this  amendment  to  take  over  and  operate  any  busi- 
ness or  enterprise  upon  the  occurrence  of  a  strike 
of  its  employees  would  be  used  by  the  government 
in  power  is  shown  by  an  incident  which  transpired 
in  the  City  of  Mexico  shortly  after  the  Carranza 
soldiers  took  possession  of  it  in  1914.  After 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  63 

appropriating  everything  that  was  movable  and 
which  could  be  converted  to  their  own  use,  the 
Carrancistas  looked  around  for  bigger  game. 
The  company  operating  in  the  city  at  that  time 
which  received  the  largest  cash  income  was  "The 
Tramways  of  Mexico  Company"  a  corporation 
financed  by  American,  Belgian,  Canadian,  and 
English  capital.  This  company  was  earning  and 
paying  a  large  bond  interest  and  a  small  dividend 
upon  its  stock.  It  was  also  paying  large  monthly 
amounts  to  the  Necaxa  Light  and  Power  Co. 
(owned  by  the  stockholders  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany) for  hydroelectric  power. 

The  governor  of  the  Federal  District  in  which 
Mexico  City  is  situated,  General  Heriberto  Jara, 
solved  the  problem  of  acquiring  the  street  railroad 
lines  with  their  great  earning  power  by  fomenting 
a  strike  of  the  company's  employees.  He  notified 
the  Mexican  employees  that  he  would  stand  by 
them  in  a  strike,  whereupon  they  promptly  struck 
for  double  wages  and  half  time.  The  officials 
of  the  railway  resisted  their  demands,  which  would 
have  meant  immediate  bankruptcy  for  the  com- 
pany. Thereupon  Governor  Jara,  declared  the 
lines  a  public  utility  and  that  as  such  their  opera- 
tion could  not  be  suspended,  and  the  government 
took  over  the  lines.  This  was  in  October  1914. 
The  government  still  holds  and  operates  the  lines; 
it  pays  no  bond  interest  and  has  paid  only  a  small 


64  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

part  of  the  total  amount  due  from  the  railroad 
company  to  the  Hydroelectric  Company  for  power. 
Of  course  the  balance  of  the  income  has  gone  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  the  Carranza  government,  which 
consist  largely  of  salaries  to  army  officers. 

Other  concerns  have  been  taken  over  in  the 
same  way,  and,  with  the  constitution  amended 
as  proposed  by  the  president,  any  business  in 
Mexico  which  appears  to  be  earning  a  profit,  from 
running  a  railroad  to  farming,  can  be  seized  and 
used  by  the  government,  as  the  street  railways 
in  the  Federal  District  were. 

Article  33  of  the  new  constitution  provides: 

"The  executive  shall  have  the  exclusive  right  to 
expel  from  the  republic  forthwith  and  without  ju- 
dicial process  any  foreigner  whose  presence  he 
may  deem  inexpedient." 

The  significance  of  this  article  is  twofold : 
First,  it  is  undoubtedly  intended  to  provide 
against  any  foreigner  remaining  in  Mexico  who 
might  be  disposed  to  make  himself  disagreeable 
by  opposing  any  violation  of  his  rights.  Should 
he  attempt  such  a  thing,  the  president  has  power, 
from  which  there  is  no  appeal,  to  banish  him. 
That  power  has  already  been  exercised  in  numer- 
ous instances.  One  use  of  it  that  attracted  some 
attention  a  short  time  ago  occurred  when  John  C. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  65 

Royle,  correspondent  of  the  Associated  Press,  an 
American  citizen,  made  himself  persona  non  grata 
to  the  government  in  power  in  that  country  by 
telegraphing  out  of  the  country  an  article  of  news 
value  which  had  appeared  in  one  of  the  newspapers 
published  in  Mexico  City.  This  American  citizen 
was  arbitrarily  loaded  upon  a  passenger  coach,  a 
guard  was  stationed  on  each  platform  and  he  was 
compelled  to  remain  there  until  the  train  arrived 
at  a  frontier  town,  whence  he  was  forced  to  leave 
the  country. 

Second,  the  fact  that  such  a  provision  as  this 
could  become  part  of  the  organic  law  shows  how 
utterly  the  party  now  in  power  fails  to  conceive 
of  the  most  rudimentary  principles  of  democratic 
government.  No  people  who  have  any  correct 
conception  of  democracy  could  for  a  moment  con- 
template the  possession  of  such  arbitrary  power, 
from  the  exercise  of  which  no  appeal  is  provided, 
by  any  member  of  its  government. 

The  pledge  regarding  religious  toleration,  con- 
tained in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Arredondo  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  already  quoted,  will  be  recalled. 
That  pledge  was  undoubtedly  accepted  as  satis- 
factory by  our  Secretary  of  State  and  by  our 
President  when,  following  its  receipt,  he  recognized 
the  Carranza  power  as  the  de  facto  government  of 
Mexico.  This,  like  all  other  pledges  made  by  the 
Carranza  party,  was  violated  by  the  new  constitu- 


66  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

tion.    Section  II  of  Article  27  of  this  document 
provides. 

"The  religious  institutions,  known  as  churches, 
irrespective  of  creed,  shall  in  no  case  have  legal 
capacity  to  acquire,  hold,  or  administer  real  prop- 
erty or  loans  made  upon  such  real  property;  all 
such  real  property,  or  loans,  as  may  be  at  present 
held  by  the  said  religious  institutions,  either  on  their 
own  behalf  or  through  third  parties,  shall  vest  in  the 
nation,  and  any  one  shall  have  the  right  to  de- 
nounce properties  so  held.  Presumptive  proof 
shall  be  sufficient  to  declare  the  denunciation  well 
founded.  Places  of  public  worship  are  the  prop- 
erty of  the  nation,  as  represented  by  the  federal 
government,  which  shall  determine  which  of  them 
shall  be  continued  to  be  devoted  to  their  present 
purposes.  Episcopal  residences,  rectories,  sem- 
inaries, orphan  asylums,  or  collegiate  establish- 
ments of  religious  institutions,  convents  or  any 
other  buildings  built  or  designed  for  the  adminis- 
tration, propaganda,  or  teaching  of  the  tenets 
of  any  religious  creed,  shall  forthwith  vest,  as  of 
full  right,  directly  in  the  nation,  to  be  used  ex- 
clusively for  the  public  services  of  the  federation 
of  the  states,  within  their  respective  jurisdictions. 
All  places  of  public  worship  which  shall  later  be 
erected  shall  be  the  property  of  the  nation." 

In  Article  1 30  of  the  new  constitution,  the  fol- 
lowing appears : 

"The  state  legislatures  shall  have  the  exclusive 
power  of  determining  the  maximum  number  of 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  67 

ministers  of  religious  creeds  according  to  the 
needs  of  each  locality. 

"Only  a  Mexican  by  birth  shall  be  the  minister 
of  any  religious  creed  in  Mexico. 

"No  minister  of  religious  creeds  shall,  either  in 
public  or  private  meetings,  or  in  acts  of  worship 
or  religious  propaganda,  criticize  the  fundamental 
laws  of  the  country,  the  authorities  in  particular, 
or  the  government  in  general;  they  shall  have  no  vote 
or  be  eligible  to  office,  nor  shall  they  be  entitled  to  as- 
semble for  political  purposes" 

Compare  the  foregoing  with  the  declaration  in 
the  letter  of  Mr.  Arredondo  to  our  Secretary  of 
State  in  which  he  says: 

"Therefore,  the  constitutionalist  government 
will  respect  everybody's  life,  property,  and  religious 
belief,  without  other  limitation  than  the  preser- 
vation of  public  order  and  the  observance  of  the 
institutions  in  accordance  with  the  laws  in  force 
and  the  constitution  of  the  Republic." 

Of  course,  as  the  constitution  of  1857  was  in  force 
in  Mexico  when  this  letter  was  written,  and  the 
Carranza  party  had  pledged  itself  to  the  support 
of  that  constitution,  our  Secretary  of  State  was 
justified  in  accepting  this  declaration  at  its  face 
value.  In  the  cities  of  Mexico  to-day  are  numbers 
of  chapels  and  churches,  erected  either  by  mission- 
aries in  their  endeavour  to  serve  and  elevate  the 
character  of  the  people,  or  by  foreigners  for  their 


68  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

own  use.  Every  one  of  these  properties  has  been 
confiscated  by  the  terms  of  the  constitution  and 
now  belong  to  the  nation.  Furthermore,  no  for- 
eign congregation  can  gather  in  a  place  of  wor- 
ship built  with  its  own  money  to  enjoy  the 
ministration  of  a  preacher  of  its  own  race.  In 
all  the  world  no  government  recognized  as  even 
semi-civilized  imposes  upon  religion  such  burdens 
as  those  under  which  it  now  rests  in  that  portion 
of  Mexico  subject  to  the  new  constitution  which 
has  resulted  as  the  perfect  fruit  of  the  Carranza 
movement. 

In  view  of  the  kind  of  government  which  the 
Carranza  party  has  conducted,  one  can  well  under- 
stand the  motive  of  its  representatives  for  includ- 
ing in  their  new  constitution  an  inhibition  against 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  criticizing  the  laws  of  the 
country,  the  authorities  in  control,  or  the  manner 
in  which  they  exercise  their  power.  It  would 
appear,  however,  that  the  provision  divesting 
every  minister  of  the  gospel  of  his  franchise  as  a 
citizen  was  a  gratuitous  expression  of  the  hatred 
of  the  constitution-makers  for  all  religion. 

The  action  of  the  Carranza  government  in  in- 
flicting the  new  constitution  upon  Mexico,  thereby 
violating  all  its  pledges  to  this  country  and  to  the 
civilized  world,  is  so  thoroughly  characteristic  and 
illustrative  of  the  moral  degradation  of  the  element 
now  governing  the  larger  part  of  Mexico  as  to 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  69 

justify  a  short  recapitulation  of  the  violated 
pledges. 

First.  In  the  Plan  of  Guadalupe  already  set  forth, 
in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Arredondo  to  our  Secretary 
of  State,  and  in  Carranza's  Decree  and  Declaration 
dated,  respectively,  December  12,  1914,  and  June 
n,  1915,  appears  the  unqualified  pledge  that  upon 
the  success  of  the  revolution  begun  by  Carranza  he 
would  restore  the  constitution  of  1857  to  full  force 
and  effect.  He  violated  this  promise  by  assemb- 
ling a  constitutional  convention  as  soon  as  he  ob- 
tained control  of  a  major  portion  of  the  national 
territory  and  causing  the  convention  to  enact  an 
entirely  new  constitution  which  should  take  the 
place  of  the  constitution  of  1857. 

Second.  There  appears  in  both  the  Decree  and 
the  Declaration  of  General  Carranza  an  unqualified 
promise  that  when  his  revolutionary  movement 
was  successful  he  would  first  "issue  the  call  for  an 
election  of  congressmen,  fixing,  in  the  call,  the  day 
and  terms  in  which  the  election  shall  be  held/'  He 
violated  this  promise  by  issuing  a  call  for  the  elec- 
tion of  the  members  of  a  constitutional  conven- 
tion and  did  not  call  congress  together  until  he  had 
secured  the  enactment  by  that  convention  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  did  not  represent  the  Mexican 
people,  of  a  new  constitution  which  would  govern 
and  control  the  action  of  the  congress. 

Third.     Both  Mr.  Arredondo  in  his  letter  to 


70  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

our  Secretary  of  State  and  General  Carranza  in 
both  his  Decree  and  Declaration  solemnly  promise 
to  "afford  to  foreigners  residing  in  Mexico  all  the 
guaranties  to  which  they  are  entitled  according  to 
our  laws,  and  shall  amply  protect  their  lives,  their 
freedom,  and  tie  enjoyment  oftleir  rights  of  property, 
allowing  them  indemnities  for  the  damage  which 
tie  revolution  may  lave  caused  to  tlem"  As  we 
shall  see  in  succeeding  chapters,  the  Carranza 
government  has  confiscated  the  capital  of  banks, 
the  public  service  properties  throughout  the 
country,  and  various  other  properties  of  foreigners 
of  the  value  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars. 
Furthermore,  although  Carranza's  administration 
has  been  recognized  as  the  de  facto  government  of 
Mexico  by  this  country  since  October  9,  1915,  and 
as  the  de  jure  government  for  a  year,  no  step  has 
been  taken  to  pay  the  indemnities  due  foreigners 
for  damage  done  by  the  revolutionists,  but  the 
damage  and  destruction  of  those  properties  have 
continued  to  the  present  time  and  are  now  pro- 
ceeding. 

Fourth.  In  his  Declaration  to  the  nation  of  June 
n,  1915,  General  Carranza  pledged  himself  that 
"there  shall  be  no  confiscation  in  connection  with 
the  settlement  of  the  agrarian  question.  This 
problem  shall  be  solved  by  an  equitable  distribu- 
tion of  the  land  still  owned  by  the  government, 
etc."  In  violation  of  this  pledge,  the  new  consti- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  71 

tution  gives  to  each  state  and  territory  the  right 
to  fix  the  maximum  area  of  land  which  any  one 
individual  or  corporation  may  own  and  to  compel 
the  owner  to  subdivide  the  remainder  and  offer  it 
for  sale  at  a  price  to  be  fixed  by  the  government  or, 
in  default  of  such  action  on  the  part  of  the  owner, 
gives  the  state  the  authority  to  fix  the  price  at 
which  it  will  take  over  the  land  and  compel  the 
owner  to  accept  bonds  of  the  state  in  payment 
therefor,  which  would  mean  absolute  confiscation. 

We  have  seen  how  completely  the  Carranza 
government  has  violated  the  pledge  of  its  diplo- 
matic representative,  Mr.  Arredondo,  that  "the 
laws  of  record  which  guarantee  individual  freedom 
of  worship  'according  to  everyone's  conscience 
shall  be  strictly  observed." 

One  of  the  worst  features  of  the  Carranza  con- 
stitution is  that,  not  having  been  enacted  by  a 
constitutional  convention  representing  either  all 
of  the  national  territory  or  all  the  people  of  the 
nation,  it  will  be  a  perpetual  and  very  just  incite- 
ment to  revolution  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not 
adopted  by  and  does  not  represent  the  will  of  the 
Mexican  people.  Indeed,  that  objection  has  al- 
ready been  urged  by  all  the  opposing  factions  now 
in  arms  against  the  Carranza  government  as  con- 
stituting a  ground  for  their  revolutionary  activi- 
ties. 

The  story  of  the  violated  pledges  made  to  this 


72  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

government  by  the  Carranza  administration  would 
not  be  complete  without  some  reference  to  the 
chapter  which  led  to  the  Columbus  massacre  and 
subsequently  to  the  killing  of  American  soldiers  and 
officers  at  Carrizal,  which  is  briefly  as  follows: 

After  the  United  States  had  recognized  the 
Carranza  regime  as  the  de  facto  government  of 
Mexico  the  latter  applied  for  permission  to  trans- 
port by  rail  through  American  territory  a  military 
force  to  attack  Villa,  for  the  reason  that  the  famous 
bandit  could  not  be  reached  in  any  other  way. 
The  request  was  granted;  and  Carranza  soldiers, 
carried  upon  American  railroads  through  United 
States  territory,  invaded  that  portion  of  Mexico 
controlled  by  Villa's  forces  and  defeated  them. 
This,  of  course,  inspired  Villa  with  the  bitterest 
hatred  of  America  and  led  to  his  attempt  to  secure 
revenge  by  raiding  Columbus,  New  Mexico,  and 
killing  a  number  of  the  citizens  and  several  United 
States  soldiers.  Before  the  President  ordered 
the  punitive  expedition  to  invade  Mexican  ter- 
ritory he  arrived  at  a  diplomatic  understanding 
with  Carranza  which  is  embodied  in  a  communica- 
tion from  our  State  Department  to  the  Carranza 
government  under  date  of  March  13,  1916,  which 
included  the  following: 

"The  Government  of  the  United  States  under- 
stands that  in  view  of  its  agreement  to  this  recipro- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  73 

cal  arrangement  proposed  by  the  de  facto  govern- 
ment, the  arrangement  is  now  complete  and  in 
force  and  the  reciprocal  privileges  thereunder 
may  accordingly  be  exercised  by  either  govern- 
ment without  further  exchange  of  views/' 

The  President,  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
United  States  Army,  thereupon  ordered  the  puni- 
tive expedition  to  proceed  into  Mexico,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  on  which  this  order  was  given 
he  called  the  newspaper  correspondents  to  the 
White  House  and  gave  to  them  the  statement 
which  was  published  the  next  morning  to  the  effect 
that  the  punitive  expedition  had  been  ordered  under 
an  agreement  with  the  de  facto  government  of  Mexico 
and  was  to  be  used  for  the  single  purpose  of  ap- 
prehending the  bandit  Villa  and  his  followers. 
There  can,  of  course,  be  no  doubt  that  this  state- 
ment was  absolutely  true  and  that  the  invasion  was 
amply  justified.  Later,  however,  it  became  ap- 
parent to  Carranza  that  the  presence  of  American 
troops  upon  the  soil  of  Mexico  was  prejudicing  him, 
as  the  head  of  the  government,  with  his  supporters 
in  whose  minds  he  had  sedulously  cultivated  hatred 
and  distrust  of  the  "gringos."  With  the  purpose 
of  rehabilitating  himself  in  the  regard  of  his  sup- 
porters, he  caused  his  Secretary  of  Foreign  Rela- 
tions to  address  to  our  State  Department  the  im- 
pudent letter,  referred  to  in  Chapter  IV,  in  which 
the  claim  was  made  that  the  presence  of  American 


74  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

troops  in  Mexico  was  an  act  of  bad  faith  and  was 
being  used  by  our  Government  for  political  pur- 
poses; that  their  presence  upon  the  soil  of  Mexico 
constituted  a  grave  wrong  to  that  country  and  end- 
ing with  the  following  threat: 

"The  Mexican  government  understands  that 
in  the  face  of  the  unwillingness  of  the  Ameri- 
can Government  to  withdraw  the  above  forces, 
it  would  be  left  no  other  recourse  than  to  procure 
the  defence  of  its  territory  by  means  of  arms." 

In  reply  to  this  letter  Secretary  Lansing,  in  his 
indignant  letter  of  June  20,  1916,  quoted  in  Chap- 
ter IV,  said: 

"  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  de  facto  government 
is  pleased  to  ignore  this  obligation  and  to  believe 
that,  'in  case  of  a  refusal  to  retire  these  troops, 
there  is  no  further  recourse  than  to  defend  its 
territory  by  an  appeal  to  arms/  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  would  surely  be  lacking  in 
sincerity  and  friendship  if  it  did  not  frankly  im- 
press upon  the  de  facto  government  that  ibe  execu- 
tion of  this  threat  would  lead  to  the  gravest  conse- 
quences" 

At  the  same  time  General  Trevifio,  in  command 
of  a  force  of  Mexican  troops  located  near  the  camp 
of  the  American  punitive  expedition,  sent  a  note 
to  General  Pershing,  under  date  of  June  16,  1916, 
as  follows: 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  75 

"I  am  instructed  by  First  Chief  Carranza,  to 
inform  you,  that  any  movement  of  American 
troops  from  their  present  lines  to  the  south,  east 
or  west  will  be  considered  as  an  overt  act  and 
will  be  the  signal  for  hostilities." 

To  this  message  General  Pershing  replied,  under 
date  of  June  18,  1916: 

"  I  have  not  received  any  orders  to  remain  sta- 
tionary or  withdraw.  If  I  see  fit  to  send  troops 
in  pursuit  of  bandits  to  the  south,  east  or  west, 
in  keeping  with  the  object  of  this  expedition,  I 
shall  do  so.  If  any  attack  is  made  on  any  part  of 
my  forces  when  performing  such  duties,  the  entire 
military  strength  of  the  expedition  will  be  used 
against  the  attacking  forces/' 

A  short  time  after  these  threats  were  exchanged, 
a  force  of  several  hundred  Mexican  soldiers,  armed 
with  machine  guns,  attacked  a  small  detachment 
of  American  cavalry  killing  several  of  their  num- 
ber, including  two  fine  young  officers.  This  kill- 
ing of  American  soldiers,  considered  in  the  light  of 
all  the  circumstances  under  which  it  occurred  and 
the  overwhelming  force  that  attacked  our  men, 
was  virtually  assassination  by  lying  in  wait,  but 
it  was  not  succeeded  by  the  "serious  conse- 
quences" mentioned  by  our  Secretary  of  State, 
nor  was  "the  entire  military  strength  of  the  ex- 
pedition" used  against  the  attacking  forces,  as 


76  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

threatened  by  the  general  commanding  the  Amer- 
ican punitive  expedition.  On  the  contrary,  Car- 
ranza,  apparently  appreciating  the  fact  that  the 
wave  of  indignation  at  this  outrage  which  swept 
over  this  country  might  force  the  hand  of  the 
Administration  and  compel  the  carrying  out  of  the 
threats  of  Secretary  Lansing  and  General  Persh- 
ing,  came  forward  with  a  proposition  to  appoint 
a  joint  commission  to  be  constituted  of  three 
members  representing  each  of  the  governments  to 
"hold  conferences  and  resolve  at  once  the  point 
regarding  the  definite  withdrawal  of  the  American 
forces  now  in  Mexico,  draft  a  protocol  of  agree- 
ment regarding  the  reciprocal  crossing  of  forces, 
and  investigate  the  origin  of  the  incursions  taking 
place  up  to  date,  so  as  to  be  able  to  ascertain  re- 
sponsibility and  arrange  definitely  the  pending 
difficulties  or  those  that  may  arise  between  the  two 
countries  in  the  future.  *  *  *  The  purpose  of 
the  Mexican  government  is  that  such  conferences 
shall  be  held  in  a  spirit  of  tie  most  frank  cordiality 
and  with  an  ardent  desire  to  reach  a  satisfactory 
agreement  and  one  honourable  tohoth  countries" 

To  this  our  acting  Secretary  of  State  replied  as 
follows : 


"  In  replying,  I  have  the  honour  to  state  that 
I  have  laid  your  Excellency's  note  before  the  Presi- 
dent, and  have  received  his  instructions  to  inform 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  77 

your  Excellency  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  is  disposed  to  accept  the  proposal 
of  the  Mexican  Government  in  the  same  spirit  of 
cordiality  in  which  it  is  made.  This  Government 
believes  and  suggests,  however,  that  the  powers  of 
the  proposed  commission  should  be  enlarged  so 
that,  if  happily  a  solution  satisfactory  to  both  gov- 
ernments of  the  question  set  forth  in  your  Excel- 
lency's communication  may  be  reached,  the  com- 
mission may  also  consider  such  other  matters,  the 
friendly  arrangement  of  which  would  tend  to  improve 
the  relations  of  the  two  countries." 

It  was  stated  at  the  time  in  the  press  that  the 
"other  matters"  which  the  United  States  desired 
the  commission  to  consider  were  the  payment  of 
indemnities  to  American  citizens  for  damages 
sustained  in  the  course  of  revolutionary  activities 
and  also  an  agreement  which  would  protect  their 
property  there  from  future  exploitation  by  the 
government  and  people ;  and  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment was  afterward  shown  by  the  course  of  the 
negotiations. 

The  United  States  was  represented  on  this  com- 
mission by  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Lane,  Judge 
Gray  of  Delaware,  and  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  three 
of  the  ablest  men  in  the  country.  Shortly  after 
the  commission  convened  in  the  Griswold  Hotel 
at  New  London,  Connecticut,  I  visited  the  hotel 
and  remained  for  several  days.  While  there,  the 
President  came  to  New  London  on  his  yacht.  The 


78  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

commissioners  in  a  body  paid  their  respects  to  him 
and  later  he  returned  the  call  and  was  in  conference 
with  the  commission  at  the  hotel  for  some  time. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  President's 
call,  a  member  of  the  commission  said  to  me: 

"The  talk  of  the  President  to  the  commission, 
and  especially  what  he  said  to  the  Mexican  com- 
missioners about  the  importance  of  their  country 
recognizing  and  living  up  to  its  international  ob- 
ligations, was  one  of  the  most  impressive  things 
that  I  ever  listened  to." 

The  commission  remained  in  session  for  months 
and  during  this  time  the  American  commissioners 
endeavoured,  without  success,  to  secure  some  agree- 
ment regarding  the  recognition  and  protection  of 
the  rights  of  our  citizens  in  Mexico.  Just  how  this 
effort  was  met  on  the  part  of  the  Mexican  com- 
missioners is  shown  by  an  incident  that  occurred 
at  a  session  of  the  commission.  Some  time  after 
the  commission  adjourned  without  having  been 
able  to  put  a  word  of  agreement  in  writing,  I  was 
told  by  a  friend,  who  had  just  arrived  from  the 
City  of  Mexico,  that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Bonillas,  a 
representative  of  Mexico  on  the  commission,  were 
circulating  there  with  great  gusto  a  story  that 
during  a  session  of  the  commission  one  of  the  Amer- 
ican members  had  delivered  what  was  evidently  a 
very  carefully  prepared  speech  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Mexican  commissioners  in  which  he  dwelt  upon 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  79 

the  importance,  and  the  necessity,  of  Mexico's 
recognizing  her  obligations  under  international 
law,  and  concluded  with  the  statement  that  unless 
Mexico  did  recognize  and  live  up  to  her  interna- 
tional obligations  she  could  never  hope  to  have  the 
respect  of  the  other  nations  of  the  world,  when, 
quick  as  a  flash,  came  from  Mr.  Bonillas  on  the 
other  side  of  the  table: 

"Then  the  other  nations  of  the  world  can  go  to 
hell!" 

Upon  meeting  one  of  the  American  members  of 
the  commission,  afterward  I  told  him  of  this  story 
and  asked  if  anything  of  the  sort  had  occurred. 
The  answer  was : 

"The  incident  occurred  exactly  as  you  have 
related  it." 

"Don't  you  believe  that  before  the  Mexican 
commissioners  left  the  City  of  Mexico  they  were 
instructed  by  Carranza  to  make  no  commitments 
whatever  regarding  the  protection  of  American- 
owned  property  in  Mexico,  because  he  had  in  mind 
at  that  very  time  the  confiscatory  constitution 
which  was  subsequently  enacted  at  Queretero?" 
I  asked. 

"  I  am  absolutely  certain  of  it,"  was  the  reply. 

Undoubtedly,  this  attitude  of  Mr.  Bonillas 
toward  his  country's  international  obligations 
showed  him  to  be  so  worthy  a  member  of  the  Car- 
ranza government  as  to  suggest  his  supreme  fitness 


80  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

to  represent  it  diplomatically  at  the  capital  of  the 
nation  whose  rights  under  international  law  it  had 
violated  and  proposed  to  continue  to  violate.  So 
the  climax  of  the  exhibition  of  boorish  manners 
which  Mr.  Bonillas's  friends" related  with  so  much 
pride  is  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was  later  ap- 
pointed ambassador  to  Washington  and,  in  pur- 
suance of  our  policy  of  "patience"  with  his  govern- 
ment, was,  of  course,  accepted  as  persona  grata  in 
that  capacity.  With  such  a  spirit  inspiring  the 
Mexican  members  of  the  joint  commission  it  is,  of 
course,  no  subject  of  surprise  that  its  sessions,  ex- 
tending over  several  months,  should  have  resulted 
in  exactly  nothing. 

But,  in  the  meanwhile,  the  appointment  of  the 
commission  and  its  prolonged  sessions  had  acted 
as  a  sedative,  giving  time  for  cooling  the  burning 
indignation  of  the  American  people  over  the  mur- 
der of  our  soldiers,  which  undoubtedly  was  the 
result  desired  by  Carranza  when  he  suggested  its 
formation.  It  also  marked  another  of  the  count- 
less instances  of  betrayal  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment in  its  efforts  to  meet  and  adjust  our  differ- 
ences with  Mexico  by  the  peaceful  means  of 
diplomacy  rather  than  by  the  exercise  of  force. 

In  all  the  diplomatic  negotiations  with  Germany, 
and  the  shameful  violations  of  her  diplomatic 
pledges  to  this  country  which  led  to  the  world  war, 
there  was  nothing  which  for  infamous  and  immoral 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  81 

violation  of  diplomatic  pledges  compares  with  the 
experience  which  the  United  States  has  had  with 
the  Carranza  administration  since  it  was  recognized 
as  the  de  facto  government  of  Mexico.  In  view  of 
the  fact  that  Germany's  breach  of  diplomatic 
agreements  with  this  country  rightly  resulted 
in  a  declaration  of  war,  one  can  hardly  under- 
stand why  the  Carranza  regime's  shameful  viola- 
tions of  its  diplomatic  promises  to,  and  agree- 
ments with,  us  should  have  been  rewarded  by 
recognition  as  the  de  jure  government  of  the 
country  which  it  was  misgoverning  in  so  terrible 
a  way. 

Long  before  the  infamous  chapter  of  violated 
diplomatic  agreements  was  written  by  Carranza 
we  had  had  similar  experiences  with  the  Latin 
Mexicans  who  have  always  controlled  that  country 
which  showed  their  utter  lack  of  diplomatic 
honour.  A  history  of  Mexico  says: 

"Almost  from  the  commencement  of  the  Mexi- 
can republic,  outrages  on  the  persons  and  property 
of  American  citizens  have  been  committed  and  re- 
dress has  always  been  either  positively  refused,  or 
so  delayed  that  both  there  and  in  the  United 
States  the  idea  became  current  that  such  violations 
of  the  laws  of  nations  were  to  be  overlooked  and 
unpunished. 

"This  course  on  the  part  of  Mexico  was  es- 
pecially disgraceful,  as  the  United  States  had  been 
the  first  nation  to  recognize  her  separate  existence, 


82  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

and  American  citizens  had  fought  well  in  more 
than  one  of  the  battles  of  her  revolution.  *  *  * 

"This  state  of  things  was  endured  patiently  by 
the  Government  and  people  of  this  country,  be- 
cause both  the  one  and  the  other  were  unwilling 
to  add  to  the  burdens  of  Mexico,  and  hoped  that 
a  calmer  day  would  break  over  the  sister  repub- 
lic, and  a  season  of  peace  at  home  enable  her  to 
attend  to  her  foreign  obligations. 

"On  the  5th  of  April,  1831,  a  treaty  of  amity 
and  navigation  was  concluded  between  the  re- 
publics; but  almost  before  the  ink  on  the  parch- 
ment was  dry,  fresh  outrages  were  perpetrated,  so 
that  within  six  years  after  that  date,  General 
Jackson,  in  a  message  to  Congress,  declared  that 
they  had  become  intolerable,  and  that  the  honour 
of  the  United  States  required  that  Mexico  should  be 
taught  to  respect  our  flag. 

"  He  declared  that  war  should  not  be  used  as  a 
remedy  'by  just  and  generous  nations  confiding 
in  their  strength  for  injuries  committed,  if  it  can 
be  honourably  avoided';  and  added,  'it  has  oc- 
curred to  me  that,  considering  the  present  embar- 
rassed condition  of  that  country,  we  should  act 
with  both  wisdom  and  moderation,  by  giving  to 
Mexico  one  more  opportunity  to  atone  for  the 
past,  before  we  take  redress  into  our  own  hands. 
To  avoid  all  misconception  on  the  part  of  Mexico, 
as  well  as  to  protect  our  national  character  from 
reproach,  this  opportunity  should  be  given  with 
the  avowed  design  and  full  preparation  to  take  im- 
mediate satisfaction,  if  it  should  not  be  obtained 
on  a  repetition  of  the  demand  for  it.  To  this 
end  I  recommend  that  an  act  be  passed  authoriz- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  83 

ing  reprisals,  and  the  use  of  the  naval  force  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  executive,  against  Mexico, 
to  enforce  them  in  the  event  of  a  refusal  by  the 
Mexican  government  to  come  to  an  amicable  ad- 
justment of  the  matters  in  controversy  between  us, 
upon  another  demand  thereof,  made  from  on  board 
of  one  of  our  vessels  of  war  on  the  coast  of  Mexico1." 

Congress  granted  the  authority  to  President 
Jackson  which  he  had  requested  to  settle  our  dif- 
ferences with  Mexico.  When  that  nation  found 
that  our  Government  was  in  earnest  and  came  to 
fear  the  use  of  force,  it  suggested  the  formation  of 
a  joint  commission,  as  Carranza  did  under  similar 
circumstances.  The  commission  was  appointed, 
and  the  history  of  its  dealings  is  so  much  an  anti- 
type of  the  record  made  by  the  joint  commission 
appointed  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Carranza  gov- 
ernment that  it  appears  to  justify  the  following 
additional  quotation  from  the  historian  referred 
to: 

"On  the  i  ith  of  April,  1839,  a  joint  commission 
was  appointed,  which,  however,  was  not  organized 
until  August  n,  1840.  The  powers  of  the  com- 
mission by  the  act  creating  it,  terminated  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1842,  and  Mr.  Polk,  in  his  last  annual  mes- 
sage, thus  characterizes  its  conduct: 

"  Tour  of  the  eighteen  months  were  consumed 
in  preliminary  discussions  on  frivolous  and  dilatory 
points  raised  by  the  Mexican  commissioners;  and 
it  was  not  until  the  month  of  December,  1840, 


84  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

that  they  commenced  the  examination  of  the 
claims  of  our  citizens  upon  Mexico.  Fourteen 
months  only  remained  to  examine  and  decide  upon 
these  numerous  and  complicated  cases.  In  the 
month  of  February,  1842,  the  term  of  the  commis- 
sion expired,  leaving  many  claims  undisposed  of 
for  want  of  time.  The  claims  which  were  allowed 
by  the  board,  and  by  the  umpire  authorized  by 
the  convention  to  decide  in  case  of  disagreement 
between  the  Mexican  and  American  commission- 
ers, amounted  to  two  million  twenty-six  thousand 
one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  dollars  and  sixty- 
eight  cents.  There  were  pending  before  the  um- 
pire when  the  commission  expired  additional  claims 
which  had  been  examined  and  awarded  by  the 
American  commissioners,  and  had  not  been  allowed 
by  the  Mexican  commissioners,  amounting  to 
nine  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  dollars  and  eight  cents, 
upon  which  he  did  not  decide,  alleging  that  his 
authority  had  ceased  with  the  termination  of  the 
joint  commission.  Besides  these  claims,  there 
were  others  of  American  citizens,  amounting  to 
three  million  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-seven  dollars  and  five 
cents,  which  had  been  submitted  to  the  board, 
and  upon  which  they  had  not  time  to  decide  before 
their  final  adjournment. 

"  The  sum  of  two  million  twenty-six  thousand 
one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  dollars  and  sixty- 
eight  cents,  which  had  been  awarded  to  the  claim- 
ants, was  a  liquidated  and  ascertained  debt  due  by 
Mexico,  about  which  there  could  be  no  dispute, 
and  which  she  was  bound  to  pay  according  to  the 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  85 

terms  of  the  convention.  Soon  after  the  final 
awards  for  this  amount  had  been  made,  the  Mex- 
ican Government  asked  for  a  postponement  of  the 
time  of  making  the  payment  at  the  time  stipulated. 

"'In  the  spirit  of  forbearing  kindness  toward  a 
sister  republic,  which  Mexico  has  so  long  abused, 
the  United  States  promptly  complied  with  her 
request.  A  second  convention  was  accordingly 
concluded  between  the  two  governments  on  the 
3oth  of  January,  1843,  which  upon  its  face  declares 
that  "  this  new  arrangement  is  entered  into  for  the 
accommodation  of  Mexico."  By  the  terms  of  this 
convention,  all  the  interest  due  on  the  awards  which 
had  been  made  in  favour  of  the  claimants  under  the 
convention  of  the  nth  of  April,  1839,  was  to  be 
paid  to  them  on  the  3Oth  of  April,  1843,  and  the 
"  principal  of  the  said  awards,  and  the  interest  ac- 
cruing thereon,"  was  stipulated  to  "be  paid  in  five 
years,  in  equal  instalments  every  three  months." 
Notwithstanding  this  new  convention  was  en- 
tered into  at  the  request  of  Mexico,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  relieving  her  from  embarrassment,  the 
claimants  have  only  received  the  interest  due  on 
the  3oth  of  April,  1843,  and  three  of  the  twenty 
instalments. 

"  'Although  the  payment  of  the  sum  thus  liquid- 
ated, and  confessedly  due  by  Mexico  to  our  citi- 
zens as  indemnity  for  acknowledged  acts  of  outrage 
and  wrong,  was  secured  by  treaty,  the  obligations 
of  which  are  ever  held  sacred  by  all  just  nations,  yet 
Mexico  has  violated  this  solemn  engagement  by 
failing  and  refusing  to  make  the  payment.  The 
two  instalments  due  in  April  and  July,  1844,  under 
the  peculiar  circumstances  connected  with  them, 


86  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

have  been  assumed  by  the  United  States  and  dis- 
charged to  the  claimants,  but  they  are  still  due  by 
Mexico.  But  this  is  not  all  of  which  we  have  just 
cause  of  complaint.  To  provide  a  remedy  for  the 
claimants  whose  cases  were  not  decided  by  the 
joint  commission  under  the  convention  of  April 
the  i  ith,  1839,  it  was  expressly  stipulated  by  the 
sixth  article  of  the  convention  of  the  3oth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1843,  that  'a  new  convention  be  entered  into 
for  the  settlement  of  all  claims  of  the  Government 
and  citizens  of  the  United  States  against  the  re- 
public of  Mexico  which  were  not  finally  decided  by 
the  late  commission,  which  met  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, and  of  all  claims  of  the  government  and 
citizens  of  Mexico  against  the  United  States. 

r"In  conformity  with  this  stipulation,  a  third 
convention  was  concluded  and  signed  at  the  City 
of  Mexico  on  the  2oth  of  November,  1843,  by  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  the  two  governments,  by  which 
provision  was  made  for  ascertaining  and  paying 
these  claims.  In  January,  1844,  this  convention 
was  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  with 
two  amendments,  which  were  manifestly  reason- 
able in  their  character.  Upon  a  reference  to  the 
amendments  proposed  to  the  government  of  Mex- 
ico, the  same  evasions,  difficulties,  and  delays  were 
interposed  which  have  so  long  marked  the  policy  of 
that  government  toward  the  United  States.  It 
has  not  even  yet  decided  whether  it  would  or  would 
not  accede  to  them,  although  the  subject  has 
been  repeatedly  pressed  upon  its  consideration/ 

"  By  failing  to  carry  out  the  stipulations  of  this 
last  convention,  Mexico  again  outraged  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States." 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  87 

We  see  from  the  foregoing  that  President  Wil- 
son, in  his  dealings  with  the  present  government 
in  Mexico,  has  met  with  the  same  experience  that 
several  other  chief  executives  of  our  country  have 
had.  President  Wilson  has  spoken  of  his  efforts 
to  show  "patience"  in  his  dealings  with  the  pres- 
ent government  of  Mexico,  and  surely  it  has  been 
amply  exhibited  in  condoning  the  most  outrageous 
violations  of  rights  ever  committed  by  the  people 
and  government  of  one  country  against  the  people 
and  government  of  another. 

Our  experience  with  Mexico,  begun  nearly  a 
hundred  years  ago  and  continuing  until  it  culmi- 
nated in  war,  proved  that  there  was  a  limit  to  our 
forbearance.  For  some  time  after  the  close  of  the 
Mexican  War,  the  rights  of  American  citizens  were 
respected  by  the  Mexicans.  But  it  did  not  take 
long  fora  people  so  prone  to  ignoring  and  violating 
the  rights  of  others  to  forget  the  lessons  of  the  war 
and  again  begin  the  violation  of  the  rights  of  Amer- 
ican citizens  both  along  the  border  and  in  Mexico. 
The  persistent  aggressions  upon  our  citizens 
along  the  border  resulted  in  the  organization  by 
the  state  of  Texas  of  a  force  which  afterward  be- 
came famous  under  the  name  of  "Texas  Rangers/' 
which  was  used  to  afford  to  the  citizens  of  that 
state  the  protection  which  they  did  not  get  from 
the  soldiers  of  the  nation.  Finally  conditions 
became  so  bad  as  to  provoke  from  Secretary  of 


88  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

State  Evarts  in   1878  a  communication  to  the 
Mexican  Government  in  which  he  said: 


"The  first  duty  of  a  government  is  to  protect  life 
and  property.  This  is  a  paramount  of  ligation. 
For  this  governments  are  instituted,  and  govern- 
ments neglecting  or  failing  to  perform  it  become 
worse  than  useless.  This  duty  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  has  determined  to  perform  to  the 
extent  of  its  power  toward  its  citizens  on  the  border. 
It  is  not  solicitous,  it  never  has  been,  about  the 
methods  or  ways  in  which  that  protection  shall  be 
accomplished,  whether  by  formal  treaty  stipula- 
tion, or  by  informal  convention;  whether  by  the 
action  of  judicial  tribunals,  or  whether  by  that  of 
military  forces.  Protection,  in  fact,  to  American 
lives  and  property  is  the  sole  point  upon  which  the 
United  States  are  tenacious." 

This  unmistakable  intimation  that  our  Govern- 
ment proposed  thereafter  to  live  up  to  its  duty,  as 
thus  defined,  in  its  dealing  with  Mexico  moved 
Diaz  to  take  steps  to  prevent  the  occurrence  of 
further  outrages  along  the  border  and  to  provide 
proper  protection  for  Americans  in  the  interior 
also.  This  condition  continued  throughout  the 
Diaz  regime  and,  apparently,  might  have  been 
continued  had  our  Government  in  its  dealings  with 
the  Mexican  revolutionists  maintained  the  position 
assumed  by  Secretary  Evarts.  This,  however, 
was  not  done.  Every  effort  was  made  to  avoid 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  89 

any  clash  between  Mexican  and  American  forces. 
Our  soldiers  and  civilians  in  border  towns  were 
killed  by  bullets  from  contesting  factions  in  Mexico 
but  our  armed  forces  were  forbidden  to  return  the 
shots.  Eighteen  American  citizens  were  killed 
in  El  Paso,  about  a  score  of  soldiers  and  civilians 
at  Naco,  and  numbers  at  other  points. 

No  Mexican  can  understand  or  appreciate  the 
sort  of  forbearance  with  which  our  Government 
under  both  Republican  and  Democratic  adminis- 
trations has  treated  the  invasion  of  the  rights  of 
our  citizens  on  the  border.  Instead  of  interpreting 
it  as  an  exercise  of  patience  and  consideration  for 
the  Mexican  people,  they  have  regarded  it  as  a 
manifestation  of  cowardice  and  it  has  merely 
encouraged  them  to  further  invasions  of  our  rights. 
Shortly  after  the  killing  of  our  soldiers  at  Carrizal 
and  because  it  was  not  followed  by  the  punish- 
ment of  those  who  were  guilty  of  that  crime,  a 
prominent  paper  in  an  interior  Mexican  city  pub- 
lished an  article  in  which  it  was  said  that  the  ex- 
perience at  Carrizal  showed  how  easily  a  Mexican 
army  could  march  through  American  territory  to 
Washington,  and  dwelt  with  some  gusto  upon  the 
wealth  of  loot  that  would  reward  such  an  expedi- 
tion. 

As  a  result  of  the  course  which  our  Government 
had  adopted  for  some  time  after  it  recognized  the 
Carranza  regime  as  the  de  facto  government  of 


90  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Mexico,  conditions  along  the  border  became  as  bad 
as,  or  worse  than  they  were  during  the  pre-Diaz 
period.  Just  how  bad  they  were  is  shown  in  the 
letter  of  Secretary  Lansing  quoted  in  Chapter  IV. 
They  finally  became  so  intolerable  and  resulted  in 
the  loss  of  so  many  American  lives  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  so  much  American  property  at  the  hands 
of  invading  Mexican  bandits  that  in  April,  191 8,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  owners  of  ranches  along  the 
Texas  border  held  a  meeting  at  Van  Horn  in  that 
state  and  spent  several  days  discussing  measures 
to  be  taken  for  the  protection  of  their  homes, 
families,  and  property.  Later,  our  Government 
seems  to  have  changed  its  policy  and  to-day  along 
the  border  shot  for  shot  is  exchanged  whenever  a 
bullet  comes  across  the  line.  This  has  resulted  in 
a  distinct  decrease  in  such  offenses. 

In  view  of  the  result  that  has  been  achieved  by 
the  policy  of  patience  maintained  toward  Mexico 
since  the  beginning  of  revolutionary  activities  the 
query  is  suggested:  Would  our  officials  in  Wash- 
ington have  maintained  such  a  policy  in  dealing 
with  the  lawless  elements  represented  by  the  Car- 
ranza  government  at  the  expense  of  our  citizens, 
had  they  known  of  the  results  of  the  same  policy 
adopted  seventy-five  years  ago  and  followed  for  a 
number  of  years,  as  set  forth  in  the  foregoing 
quotations  from  the  messages  of  Presidents  Jack- 
son and  Polk? 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  91 

History  shows  that  throughout  the  whole  career 
of  Mexico  as  an  independent  nation  except  during 
the  Diaz  period,  the  Latin-Mexican  element  re- 
sponsible for  its  government  has  never  failed  to 
attempt  to  violate  any  international  agreement 
or  obligation  when  it  thought  its  interests  would 
be  served  by  such  a  course.  The  history  of  our 
patience  and  forbearance  before  the  Mexican  War 
reads  like  the  story  of  the  dealings  between  our 
Government  and  Mexico  from  the  period  in  Presi- 
dent Taft's  administration,  when  revolutionary 
activities  began,  to  the  present  time.  The  only 
difference  is  that  we  have  secured  even  less  sat- 
isfaction as  the  result  of  our  policy  of  "patience" 
than  was  obtained  previous  to  the  Mexican  War. 
In  the  meanwhile,  these  experiments  with  the  law- 
less, dishonest,  and  criminal  element  represented 
by  the  Latin-Mexican  governing  class,  have  been 
paid  for  by  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  American 
citizens  and  the  destruction  of  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars'  worth  of  American  property. 

Previous  to  the  thirty-four  years  of  orderly 
government  enforced  by  Diaz  few  Americans 
resided  in  Mexico  and  little  American  capital  had 
been  invested  there.  But,  encouraged  by  the  law 
and  order  maintained  by  the  Diaz  government 
and  by  its  invitations  to  invest  in  that  country, 
our  people  had  gone  into  Mexico  in  considerable 
numbers.  It  is  estimated  that  at  the  beginning 


92  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

of  the  revolutionary  period  in  1910  at  least  forty 
thousand  Americans  were  making  their  homes 
there.  Americans  had  invested  their  lives  and 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  of  their  capital 
in  enterprises  which,  while  profitable  to  them- 
selves, were  of  enormous  economic  value  to  the 
country  with  which  they  had  cast  their  fortunes. 

These  thousands  of  Americans  and  hundreds  of 
millions  of  their  property  are  the  counters  with 
which  the  game  of  "patience"  has  been  played 
with  Mexico  by  our  Government  for  seven  years. 
And,  if  one  may  continue  the  simile,  our  Gov- 
ernment has  been  playing  a  game  with  the  cards 
marked  against  it,  for  we  have  practised  the 
diplomacy  of  an  honest,  moral  people,  while  the 
Mexicans  have  shown  that  disregard  for  every 
diplomatic  agreement  and  every  obligation  under 
international  law  which  should  have  been  expected 
from  the  Latin-Mexican  element,  which  has  earned 
the  reputation  of  being  the  most  congenitally  dis- 
honest and  immoral  race  in  the  world  to-day. 
This  would  appear  to  be  strong  language  were  it 
not  so  plainly  justified  by  the  history  of  nearly  a 
hundred  years.  I  believe  that  in  what  follows  I 
shall  amply  establish  its  truth  and  justice. 


CHAPTER  HI 

Character  of  Foreign  Investments  in  Mexico,  Particu- 
larly Those  of  Americans — Relation  of  These  Investments 
to  the  Economic  Condition  of  the  Country — Dealings 
Between  Foreign  Investors  and  the  Mexican  Government 

BOUT  the  end  of  Diaz's  long  administration 
Marion  Letcher,  American  Consul  at 
Chihuahua,  compiled  a  statement  which 
was  filed  in  the  State  Department  at  Washington 
showing  the  total  wealth  of  Mexico  to  be 
$2,434,241,422;  of  which  Americans  owned 
$1,057,770,000;  English,  $321,302,800;  French, 
$143,446,000;  all  other  foreigners,  $118,535,380; 
Mexicans,  $792,187,242.  Senator  Fall,  of  New 
Mexico,  who  is  well  informed  on  Mexican  affairs, 
asserts  that  the  correct  figures  for  English  invest- 
ments are  more  than  double  those  given  by  Consul 
Letcher;  and  that  the  figures  for  the  Americans 
should  also  be  largely  increased.  However  this 
may  be,  the  Consul's  compilation  will  at  least  serve 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  relative  importance  of  for- 
eign capital  in  developing  the  resources  of  Mexico. 
The  fact  is  that  foreigners  have  developed  Mexico; 
have  built  its  railroads,  opened  its  mines,  con- 

93 


94  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

structed  and  operated  its  factories,  opened  up  its 
oil  wells,  introduced  modern  machinery  and  im- 
plements, and  have  given  employment  to  prac- 
tically all  the  native  labour  in  the  country,  except 
that  engaged  at  from  1 5  to  50  cents  a  day  on  the 
plantations,  farms,  or  ranches. 

The  point  of  present  interest  is  that  these  large 
foreign  investments,  and  their  influence  in  develop- 
ing natural  resources  and  affording  a  livelihood  to 
all  who  were  willing  to  work,  are  paraded  as  one 
of  the  fundamental  grievances  of  the  Carrancistas 
to  redress  which  they  have  confiscated  all  the  prop- 
erty that  could  be  converted  into  cash  without 
too  much  effort  and  have  greatly  damaged  or 
destroyed  substantially  all  the  rest.  Conscious 
that  such  proceedings  are  not  considered  exactly 
good  form  in  the  countries  whence  the  invest- 
ments came,  the  Carrancistas  have  expended 
a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  in  endeavouring  to  justify, 
or  at  least  to  excuse,  their  peculiar  ideas  regarding 
the  rights  of  property.  Or  it  may  be  that  these 
endeavours  have  been  prompted  less  by  prickings 
of  conscience  than  by  a  fear  that  if  the  whole  truth 
were  known  there  might  be  some  inconvenient 
insistence  upon  restitution  and  protection  for 
whatever  property  is  left  in  accessible  shape  and 
for  such  foreigners  as  still  survive. 

The  Carrancistas  have  been  particularly  zealous 
in  their  efforts  to  win  American  sympathy.  To 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  95 

this  end  they  have  maintained  two  centres  of 
propaganda  in  the  United  States.  One,  located 
in  Washington,  issues  a  monthly  journal  and  press 
sheets  at  frequent  intervals  describing  in  roseate 
terms  alleged  conditions  in  Mexico  and  descant- 
ing upon  the  beneficent  effects  of  Carranza's  sway. 
This  material  is  circulated  among  members  of 
Congress,  Government  officials  and  others  sup- 
posed to  be  more  or  less  influential. 

Every  number  of  these  publications  contains 
numerous  manifestations  of  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent vices  of  the  Latin  element  of  Mexico,  and 
that  is  mendacity.  Probably  a  sufficient  example 
of  this  characteristic  may  be  found  in  a  statement 
in  one  of  these  publications  to  the  effect  that  a 
recent  school  census  taken  in  Mexico  City  showed 
that  a  larger  percentage  of  children  of  school  age 
attended  the  public  schools  in  that  city  than  were 
attending  the  public  schools  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  Of  course,  this  statement  to  any  person 
acquainted  with  conditions  there  was  palpably 
false.  Its  falseness  was  quickly  demonstrated  by 
news  from  Mexico  City,  published  in  the  daily 
papers  of  this  country  a  short  time  after  the  item 
referred  to  appeared,  to  the  effect  that  many  of  the 
schools  there  had  been  closed  because  the  govern- 
ment found  itself  unable  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the 
teachers. 

Another  centre  of  Carranza  propaganda  was 


96  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

established  in  New  York  City  shortly  after  the 
beginning  of  the  Carranza  revolution,  by  what  was 
called  the  "Latin-American  News  Association." 
In  some  way  unknown  my  name  appears  to  have 
been  entered  upon  the  mailing  list  of  this  associa- 
tion, and  I  have  received  numerous  pamphlets 
devoted  to  various  phases  of  Mexican  affairs.  In 
one  of  these  appears  the  following  statement : 

"  Mexico  has  been  the  happy  hunting  ground  of 
the  adventurer  since  the  days  of  the  Spanish  Con- 
quest. Egypt,  Morocco,  Tunis,  South  Africa, 
do  not  compare  with  it  as  a  treasure  box.  Govern- 
ment has  always  meant  merely  an  organized  sys- 
tem of  robbery  and  exploitation.  It  gave  the 
people  nothing,  it  took  everything  the  people  had. 
It  taxed  them  in  the  most  ruthless  ways;  it  spent 
the  taxes  for  private  purposes  and  profit.  The 
courts  were  merely  another  instrument  for  enforc- 
ing serfdom  along  with  the  army." 

As  we  shall  see,  this  statement  is  entirely  true 
as  applied  to  the  Latin  masters  of  the  Mexican 
people  and  the  sort  of  government  which  they 
were  accorded  by  these  masters  during  the  first 
three  hundred  years  of  their  control.  The  pam- 
phlet continues: 

"  Diaz  reduced  the  process  to  a  scientific  system. 
He  termed  it  'developing  the  country/  The  con- 
cession seekers  flocked  to  Mexico  with  the  coming 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  97 

of  Diaz  to  power  in  1876.  He  owed  them  every- 
thing, for  they  made  him  master  of  Mexico.  They 
enjoyed  thirty-four  years  of  almost  uninterrupted 
freedom  until  the  flight  of  Diaz  to  Paris  in  1910. 
.  .  .  He  paid  his  first  debts  by  concessions  for 
the  building  of  two  railroad  lines  from  the  Texas 
border  to  Mexico  City.  Land  was  given  for  the 
right  of  way,  together  with  a  subsidy  of  $  14,000  per 
mile  on  level  country  and  $3 5,000  per  mile  in  rough 
country.  *  *  * 

"  During  all  these  years,  the  United  States  was 
unhappily  the  bulwark  of  the  exploiting  interests. 
The  Mexican  people  feared  American  intervention 
more  than  anything  else  and  this  fear  kept  them 
from  revolution.  And  the  colossal  grants  and  sub- 
sidies for  railroads,  mines,  oil,  gold,  silver,  copper 
and  land,  judiciously  distributed,  identified  the 
United  States'  State  Department,  tie  Senate,  tie  press, 
and  tie  people  of  tie  United  States  with  Dia%  no  mat- 
ter what  his  outrages  might  be. 

"The  Mexicans  want  to  get  back  their  lands 
which  have  been  taken  from  them  by  bribery  or 
machine  guns.  And  they  are  doing  it.  They 
want  to  get  back  their  oil  wells,  gold  and  silver 
mines,  and  the  tremendously  rich  copper  deposits 
of  the  north,  and  they  are  doing  it." 

The  name  of  the  author  of  the  pamphlet  is  not 
given,  and  there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  the 
race  to  which  he  belongs.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  the  paragraphs  quoted  indicate  two  of  the 
worst  characteristics  of  the  element  which  has 
given  Mexico  bad  government  for  four  hundred 


98  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA* 

years,  and  these  are  mendacity  and  lawless  greed. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  author  of  the  article  does 
not  hesitate  to  allege  that  the  grants  and  sub- 
sidies given  by  the  Diaz  government  were  success- 
fully used  as  bribes  to  influence  the  State  Depart- 
ment, the  Senate,  the  press,  and  the  whole  people 
of  the  United  States.  This  may  be  accepted  as  a 
fair  measure  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  Carranza 
propaganda  with  which  the  country  has  been 
flooded.  What  the  writer  really  meant,  although 
he  did  not  say  it,  was  that  the  Mexicans  lad  taken, 
and  propose  to  continue  to  take  ly  tie  strong  land, 
tie  property  acquired  ly  citizens  of  tie  United  States 
and  other  foreigners  in  tleir  country. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  show  that  no  citizen  of  tie 
United  States,  during  tie  Dia%  regime,  ever  acquired, 
ly  grant  or  subsidy,  a  dollar's  worth  of  oil  territory, 
gold,  silver,  or  copper  mines,  or  land;  and  that  the 
railroad  subsidies  from  which  American  citizens 
benefited  were  probably  the  most  moderate  ever 
given  for  such  value  as  was  received  by  Mexico  in 
the  building  of  her  railroads,  and  were  very  much 
less  than  subsidies  granted  by  our  own  country 
for  a  like  purpose.  Also,  that  in  the  use  of  the 
subsidies  by  the  recipients  of  them  a  degree  of 
honesty  was  exhibited  which  we  cannot  claim  to 
have  been  exercised  in  handling  subsidies  granted 
for  railroad  construction  in  the  United  States.  As 
an  illustration  of  the  reckless  falsehoods  which 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  99 

have  been  uttered  about  the  dealings  of  our  people 
with  Mexico,  and  which,  alas,  have  found  credence 
to  which  they  were  not  entitled  among  men  in 
responsible  positions  in  our  Government,  may  be 
cited  the  history  of  oil  development. 

PETROLEUM   DEVELOPMENT 

The  existence  of  petroleum  in  what  is  now  the 
state  of  Vera  Cruz,  was  known  before  the  Spanish 
conquest.  Asphaltum,  produced  by  the  drying 
on  the  surface  of  exudes  from  these  oil  deposits, 
was  used  before  the  time  of  Cortez  for  making  the 
floors  of  the  Aztec  temples.  The  Latin  inhabi- 
tants of  Mexico  knew  of  the  existence  of  these  oil 
exudes  from  the  time  that  they  first  occupied  the 
country.  Notwithstanding  this  fact,  and  the 
further  fact  that  since  the  development  of  oil  in 
the  United  States  it  was  known  that  exudes  of  this 
character  indicated  the  presence  of  petroleum 
beneath  the  surface,  no  citizen  of  Mexico  ever 
showed  the  possession  of  energy  and  initiative 
enough  to  attempt  the  development  of  these  oil 
measures.  It  remained  for  two  Americans, 
Messrs  E.  L.  Doheny  and  C.  A.  Canfield,  citizens 
of  Los  Angeles,  to  undertake  the  development 
which  has  added  enormously  to  the  economic 
wealth  and  welfare  of  Mexico,  and  which  has  con- 
ferred a  great  benefit  upon  the  civilized  world. 
These  men,  who  had  made  fortunes  in  petroleum 


ioo  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

development  in  the  United  States,  learned  of  the 
existence  of  the  exudes  in  what  is  now  known  as 
the  oil  territory  of  Mexico.  They  visited  this 
section,  which  at  the  time  was  largely  a  jungle, 
and  convinced  themselves  of  the  existence  of 
subterranean  oil  measures.  These  measures  were 
upon  lands  which  were  held  in  private  ownership, 
under  titles  dating  largely  from  the  time  of  the 
Spanish  conquest,  four  hundred  years  before.  In 
their  oil  developments  they  of  course,  were  forced 
to  deal  with  these  private  owners,  inasmuch  as 
Article  10  of  the  Mining  Law  of  Mexico  at  that 
time  provided: 

ART.  10.  The  following  substances  are  the  ex- 
clusive property  of  the  owner  of  the  land,  who  may 
therefore  develop  and  enjoy  them,  without  the 
formality  of  claim  or  special  adjudication: 

I — Ore  bodies  of  the  several  varieties  of  coal. 


IV — Salts  found  on  the  surface,  fresh  and  salt 
water,  whether  surface  or  subterranean,  petroleum 
and  gaseous  springs,  or  springs  of  warm  medicinal 
waters. 

Shortly  after  Diaz  came  into  power  he  induced 
the  government  to  adopt  the  plan  of  granting  for  a 
stated  term  immunity  from  import  and  export 
tariff  taxes  upon  all  material  brought  into  the 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  101 

country  and  used  in  founding  any  new  business 
enterprise,  which  would  be  for  the  direct  economic 
benefit  of  the  nation,  and  all  products  of  such 
business  that  should  be  shipped  out.  In  this,  of 
course,  the  nation  did  nothing  further  than  to-day 
is  being  done  by  probably  a  hundred  enterprising 
cities  in  our  own  country  where  manufacturing 
enterprises  are  attracted  by  the  grant  of  immunity 
from  local  taxes  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  or, 
where  the  law  prohibits  such  favours  being  granted 
by  municipal  governments,  by  contributions  to  the 
cost  of  land  for  factories,  and  other  advantages. 
Messrs.  Doheny  and  Canfield  went  to  the  gov- 
ernment and  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  at 
that  time  Mexico  had  no  oil  wells  and  that  fuel  was 
one  of  the  great  economic  needs  of  the  country, 
announced  that  they  proposed  to  invest  a  large 
sum  in  endeavouring  to  develop  the  petroleum 
deposits,  and  asked  to  be  granted  a  concession 
which  would  enable  them  to  conduct  their  business 
for  a  term  of  years  free  of  national  import  and  ex- 
port duties.  As  the  law  providing  for  the  granting 
of  such  a  concession  required  that  the  enterprise 
should  represent  a  new  business  of  a  character  not 
developed,  before  they  could  secure  the  concession 
for  which  they  asked  they  were  compelled  to  ob- 
tain a  certificate  from  the  government  of  every 
state  in  the  Mexican  Union  certifying  that  no  oil 
development  had  been  made  in  any  such  state, 


102  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

in  order  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  business 
which  they  proposed  to  conduct  would  really  add 
a  new  business  to  the  industrial  life  of  Mexico. 
Having  obtained  these  certificates,  they  secured 
a  "concession"  which  granted  to  the  enterprise  of 
developing  petroleum,  which  they  proposed  to 
conduct,  immunity  from  all  national  import  and 
export  taxes  on  any  material  which  they  might 
bring  in  for  use  in  their  business,  or  any  product 
thereof  which  they  might  ship  out  of  the  country 
for  a  period  of  ten  years.  This  was  the  sole  ad- 
vantage ever  given  Mr.  Doheny  and  his  associates 
by  the  Mexican  Government.  Having  obtained 
this  concession,  they  then  proceeded  to  invest 
several  millions  of  dollars  in  the  purchase  of  land 
and  clearing  it,  drilling  wells,  providing  pipe  lines, 
tankage  facilities,  refineries,  vessels  for  transport- 
ing oil,  and  all  the  other  equipment  required  for  the 
successful  prosecution  of  the  business  which  even- 
tually added  greatly  to  the  economic  wealth  of 
Mexico.  In  order  to  do  this,  of  course,  they  staked 
millions  of  dollars  upon  the  chance  of  finding  oil 
in  paying  quantities. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  owing  to  the  habit  of 
speaking  of  work  done  by  Americans  in  the  de- 
velopment of  petroleum  and  other  enterprises 
of  that  character  as  "concession,"  there  is  a 
general  impression  that  the  lands  have  been  ob- 
tained as  a  gift  from  the  Government,  perhaps 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  103 

with  other  valuable  privileges  in  addition.  PoS1- 
sibly  this  erroneous  impression  may  be  traced  in 
the  first  place  to  the  translation  of  the  Spanish 
word  "concesion"  which  means  merely  a  franchise 
or  a  permit  to  do  business,  as  the  equivalent  of  the 
English  word  "concession,"  which  means  some- 
thing quite  different. 

After  the  discovery  of  oil  in  paying  quantities 
by  Mr.  Doheny  and  his  associates  the  attention  of 
other  large  oil  interests  was  attracted  to  the  Mexi- 
can field  and  in  due  time  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany, the  Waters-Pierce  Company,  and  the  Eng- 
lish interests  represented  by  Lord  Cowdray,  as 
well  as  other  less  important  organizations,  secured 
territory  in  the  oil  fields  by  purchase  or  lease  and 
commenced  the  production  of  petroleum.  Not 
in  one  instance,  however,  did  any  American  com- 
pany secure  any  part  of  its  oil  territory  as  a 
grant,  gift,  or  concession  from  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment, although  the  contrary  has  been  asserted 
in  numberless  false-propaganda  pamphlets  and 
articles  that  have  been  distributed  by  the  Mexican 
revolutionists  in  this  country. 

Much  of  the  oil  territory  still  belongs  to  Mexican 
citizens  and  is  being  operated  by  various  companies 
under  leases  from  the  land  owners,  just  as  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  acres  of  oil  land  belonging 
to  farmers  have  been  operated  under  leases  pro- 
viding for  stipulated  royalty  payments  in  the 


104  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

various  oil-producing  states  of  our  own  country. 
These  Mexican  owners  of  petroleum  lands  have 
held  meetings  at  Tampico,  and  have  submitted 
vigorous  protests  to  the  Carranza  government 
against  Article  27  of  the  new  constitution,  which 
is  being  used  by  the  Carranza  administration  in  an 
attempt  to  rob  them  of  the  contents  of  their  lands 
which  the  law  has  heretofore  assured  to  them;  but, 
as  the  oil  industry  is  to-day  one  of  the  few  in  that 
country  that  are  paying  and  as  the  Carranza  gov- 
ernment is  constantly  in  need  of  money  for  the 
use  of  its  dissipated  army  officers,  efforts  to  con- 
summate the  scheme  of  robbery  under  the  so-called 
new  constitution  have  by  no  means  been  abandoned. 
The  millions  of  dollars  which  American  oil  pro- 
ducers risked  in  their  enterprises  were  of  enormous 
economic  value  to  the  country.  The  oil  from 
their  wells,  and  from  those  developed  later  by  other 
foreign  interests,  furnished  fuel  for  the  Mexican 
railroads,  a  considerable  mileage  of  which  was 
controlled  by  the  government,  cheaper  and  of  a 
better  quality  than  they  had  ever  been  able  to 
obtain  before.  It  furnished  fuel  which  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  gas  plants  in  Mexico  City 
and  elsewhere— an  economic  development  of  pe- 
culiar value,  on  account  of  the  moderate  climate 
in  which  gas  furnishes  the  cheapest  and  best  pos- 
sible fuel  for  household  purposes.  These  plants 
have  all  been  ruined  by  the  revolution.  The 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  105 

asphalt  residuum  from  the  distillation  of  the  crude 
oils  furnished  paving  materials,  with  the  result 
that  numerous  Mexican  cities  that  had  never 
known  a  yard  of  good  pavement  became  the  pos- 
sessors of  beautifully  paved  streets.  In  addition, 
it  has  furnished  employment  for  thousands  of 
Mexican  workmen  at  wages  several  hundred  per 
cent  greater  than  any  that  they  had  ever  received 
from  their  own  countrymen.  Furthermore,  the 
''concession"  obtained  by  Mr.  Doheny  and  his 
associates  conferred  no  immunity  from  state  or 
municipal  taxes. 

In  entering  upon  the  development  of  oil  in  Mex- 
ico, these  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  other 
foreigners  did  nothing  more  than  was  done  some 
years  ago  by  a  great  European  corporation, 
financed  by  the  Rothschilds,  known  as  "The 
Shell  Oil  Company"  (Royal  Dutch),  in  securing 
large  areas  of  oil  territory  in  the  state  of  California ; 
the  only  difference  being  that  production  in  this 
territory  had  been  developed  as  a  profitable  busi- 
ness before  these  foreign  interests  acquired  their 
property,  while  those  Americans  who  first  eritered 
upon  oil  development  in  Mexico  assumed  all  the 
risks  of  failure  which  confront  every  pioneer  in  a 
mining  venture.  The  foreign  company  which  has 
acquired  oil  properties  in  California  sells  some  of 
its  products  in  this  country  and  ships  quantities 
of  it  to  other  markets,  while  all  the  profits  of  the 


106  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

operation,  of  course,  go  to  the  stockholders  abroad. 
Yet,  any  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  would 
complain  that  the  Shell  Oil  Company  has  done  a 
deadly  wrong  by  acquiring  and  exploiting  oil  lands 
in  this  country,  and  should  demand  therefore, 
that  its  property  be  confiscated,  would  be  re- 
garded as  either  a  lunatic  or  a  criminal.  However, 
the  Carranza  party  finding  that  foreigners,  by 
their  intelligence  and  enterprise  and  the  invest- 
ment of  millions  of  dollars,  have  developed  a 
natural  resource  into  a  valuable  economic  asset, 
decides  that  those  foreigners  have  imposed  a  griev- 
ous wrong  upon  the  country  which  it  has  at- 
tempted to  cure  by  adopting  Article  27  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  1917,  which  provides: 

"  In  the  nation  is  vested  direct  ownership  of  all 
*  *  *  solid  mineral  fuels;  petroleum  and  all 
hydrocarbons — solid,  liquid  or  gaseous." 

Under  the  authority  of  that  article  the  Car- 
ranza government  is  now  attempting  to  make  the 
petroleum  companies  pay  it "  rentals  and  royalties  " 
for  the  privilege  of  taking  the  oil  from  lands  that 
have  been  in  the  possession  of  private  owners  for 
nearly  four  hundred  years,  and  were  acquired  for  a 
price  supposed  to  be  full  value  paid  by  the  for- 
eigners as  the  first  step  in  creating  an  enterprise 
which  has  benefited  the  people  of  Mexico  in  a 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  107 

hundred  ways.  What  would  the  farmers  of  Penn- 
sylvania, West  Virginia,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  and 
California,  upon  whose  lands  oil  has  been  de- 
veloped, think  if  the  people  of  their  states  should 
adopt  constitutions  providing  that  the  oil  was 
public  property  and  insist  upon  collecting  the 
royalty  which  the  private  owners  of  the  land  have 
heretofore  received? 

Of  course,  no  people  that  is  not  so  congenitally 
immoral  as  to  be  incapable  of  appreciating  the 
moral  character  of  an  act  would  undertake  to 
perpetrate  such  a  wrong  upon  the  owners  of  private 
property  as  the  Carrancistas  are  endeavouring  to 
inflict  upon  the  owners  of  oil  lands.  But  it  is  safe 
to  say,  that,  so  long  as  the  present  government 
feels  that  it  has  the  power  to  carry  out  this  scheme 
of  robbery,  no  protest  made  by  native  or  foreign 
landowner  will  be  of  any  avail. 

Our  own  country  has  recently  instructed  its 
diplomatic  representative  in  Mexico  City  to  make 
such  a  protest  and  it  has  been  done.  It  would 
appear  that  our  country  is  prepared  to  use  force 
to  make  that  protest  effective,  to  prevent  the 
robbery  of  American  citizens. 

RAILROAD    SUBSIDIES    AND    FOREIGN    INVESTMENTS 
IN  MEXICAN   RAILROADS 

Apologists  for  the  confiscatory  actions  of  the  gov- 
ernment now  in  power  in  Mexico  have  had  a  great 


io8          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

deal  to  say  about  the  concessions  for  building  rail- 
roads granted  to  foreigners  by  Diaz.  They  have 
denounced  these  concessions  in  unmeasured  terms 
as  among  the  greatest  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the 
Mexican  people  by  that  government.  These 
apologists  for  the  acts  of  the  Carranza  government 
in  taking  possession  of  the  railroads  and  failing  to 
pay  either  interest  upon  their  bonds  or  dividends 
to  stockholders,  allege  that  these  roads  were  origi- 
nally built  at  the  cost  of  the  public. 

In  investigating  the  history  of  subsidies  for  rail- 
road construction  in  Mexico,  it  is  well  to  bear  in 
mind  that  prior  to  the  period  when  the  principal 
concessions  were  granted,  almost  all  railroads  in 
our  own  country  were  the  recipients  of  subsidies 
for  the  purpose  of  defraying  a  part,  or  all,  of  the 
cost  of  their  construction.  This  particularly 
applies  to  the  West  where,  on  account  of  the  coun- 
try being  sparsely  settled  and  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  years  might  elapse  before  sufficient  busi- 
ness could  be  developed  to  make  the  operation  of 
the  railroads  profitable,  it  was  understood  that  no 
such  great  public  improvement  could  be  made 
at  the  entire  cost  of  private  investors  and  that 
these  improvements  promised  to  be  of  such  great 
value  to  the  nation  at  large  as  well  as  to  the  sections 
of  the  country  directly  served,  as  to  justify  the 
public  in  contributing  to  their  construction.  It  is 
probably  not  an  over-statement  to  say  that  every 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          log 

county  and  city  in  the  Middle-Western  states,  for 
whose  service  railroads  were  constructed,  contrib- 
uted something  in  the  form  of  subsidies;  and,  as 
we  shall  presently  see,  the  National  Government 
gave  enormous  sums  to  the  Union  Pacific  and  the 
Central  Pacific  companies. 

Similar  conditions  in  Mexico  produced  similar 
results  in  railroad  construction.  But  those  who 
now  seek  to  excuse  their  confiscation  of  all  the 
great  investments  made  by  foreigners  before  or 
during  the  Diaz  regime,  have  sought  to  charge 
Diaz  and  his  government  with  the  responsibility 
for  all  subsidies  granted  to  Mexican  railroads.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  encouragement  of  railroad  con- 
struction in  Mexico  by  subsidy  was  entered  upon 
years  before  Diaz  came  into  power  in  1876,  and 
was  an  important  part  of  the  efforts  made  by  the 
great  patriot,  Juarez,  to  improve  native  land  and 
elevate  the  condition  of  his  countrymen.  A 
history  of  Mexico  says: 

"While  it  would  be  difficult  to  determine  exactly 
the  date  at  which  Mexico  emerged  from  her  con- 
dition of  insularity  and  took  her  place  among  the 
nations  of  the  world,  it  would  not  come  amiss  to 
mention  that  under  the  wise  administration  of 
Senor  Lerdo  she  certainly  laid  the  foundation  for 
her  coming  prosperity.  That  marvel  of  engin- 
eering skill,  the  Mexican  Railroad,  which  had  been 
in  progress  of  construction  sixteen  years,  was 


no          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

formally  opened  in  January,  1873,  and  the  coast  of 
Mexico  at  Vera  Cruz  was  connected  with  its  capi- 
tal. By  a  decree  of  Congress  in  1874  (two  years 
before  Diaz  came  into  power]  a  concession  was 
granted  for  another  line  northwardly  from  the  City 
of  Mexico,  which  was  the  initial  step  taken  in  the 
great  movement  connecting  the  capital  with  the 
chief  cities  of  the  United  States.  Roads  and  tele- 
graph lines  were  now  projected  in  all  directions; 
commerce,  both  external  and  internal,  developed 
with  great  rapidity,  and  in  the  fiscal  year  of  1878 
the  exports  from  Vera  Cruz  alone  amounted  to 
more  than  8516,000,000." 

It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  the  line  referred 
to  by  the  historian  when  he  says:  "By  decree  of 
Congress  in  1874  a  concession  was  granted  for 
another  line  northwardly  from  the  City  of  Mex- 
ico," is  one  of  the  lines  named  in  a  Carranza  prop- 
aganda pamphlet  which  alleges  that  Diaz  "paid 
his  first  debts  by  concessions  for  the  building  of 
two  railroad  lines  from  the  Texas  border  to  Mexico 
City."  The  fact  is  that  the  concession  for  this 
line  was  granted  under  the  administration  of  Pres- 
ident Lerdo  de  Tejada,  two  years  before  Diaz  came 
into  power. 

The  most  important  railroad  concession  and 
subsidy  granted  by  the  Diaz  government  was  for 
the  line  v/hich  subsequently  became  known  as  the 
Mexican  Central  and  this  on  account  of  its  im- 
portance and  extent,  may  be  taken  as  being  fairly 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  m 

illustrative  of  that  character  of  all.  It  is  of  par- 
ticular interest  to  Americans  for  the  reason  that 
the  company  which  built  the  railroad  was  organ- 
ized by  Boston  capitalists.  For  these  reasons,  the 
law  embodying  this  concession,  given  in  Ap- 
pendix I,  will  repay  careful  study  by  those  who  are 
desirous  of  knowing  the  exact  truth  about  Mexican 
railroad  concessions  and  subsidies  about  which  so 
much  has  been  said.  It  will  be  noted,  as  among 
the  most  important  provisions  of  this  law,  that  the 
concession  provides: 

First :  that  at  the  end  of  ninety-nine  years  the  road 
shall  revert  to  the  nation  free  of  all  encumbrances. 

Second:  that  the  mails  were  to  be  carried  free 
by  the  proposed  railroad  during  the  life  of  the 
concession,  to  wit:  ninety-nine  years. 

Third:  that  maximum  tariffs  for  the  carrying 
of  freight  and  passengers  are  named  in  the  con- 
cession which,  by  comparison  with  the  rates 
charged  for  years  by  our  own  Western  railroads 
constructed  with  the  aid  of  government  subsidies, 
will  be  found  to  have  been  very  much  lower  than 
the  latter. 

Fourth:  the  government  gave  to  the  company 
a  subsidy  of  $9,500  for  each  kilometre  of  con- 
structed road,  equalling  $15,311  per  mile,  pay- 
ment of  which  should  not  commence  until  after 
the  completion  of  the  first  one  hundred  and  fifty 
kilometres. 


ii2  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

In  order  that  a  comparison  may  be  made  of  the 
terms  upon  which  the  respective  governments 
aided  railroad  construction  in  Mexico  and  in  our 
own  country,  the  grants  by  the  U.  S.  Government 
to  the  Union  Pacific  Company  and  the  Central 
Pacific  Company,  are  set  forth  in  Appendix  II. 
By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  in  addition  to  an  out- 
right gift  to  the  companies  of  12,800  acres  of  gov- 
ernment land  per  mile  of  railroad  constructed,  a 
subsidy  was  granted  in  the  form  of  a  cash  loan 
"equal  to  %  16,000  per  mile  for  that  portion  of  the 
line  between  the  Missouri  River  and  the  base  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains;  $48,000  per  mile  for  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  through  the 
mountain  range;  $32,000  per  mile  for  the  distance 
intermediate  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  Sierra  Nevada  range;  $48,000  per  mile  for  the 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  through 
the  Sierra  Nevadas." 

The  original  act  provided  that  the  cash  subsidy 
should  be  a  first  mortgage  upon  the  road,  but  by  a 
subsequent  amendment  it  was  made  a  second 
mortgage,  the  company  being  authorized  to  issue 
its  own  bonds  to  an  amount  equal  to  the  Govern- 
ment's issue  as  a  first  mortgage  on  the  lines.  It 
will  be  noted  that  there  is  no  provision  for  any 
reversionary  interest  of  the  Government  in  these 
lines,  for  which  the  aid  afforded  was  much  greater 
than  any  subsidy  ever  granted  by  the  Mexican 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  113 

Government  and  no  provision  was  made  for  carry- 
ing mails  free.  There  was  a  provision  for  the 
transportation  of  United  States  troops  and  this 
stipulation,  it  is  said,  was  inserted  because  it  was 
recognized  that  probably  United  States  troops 
would  have  to  be  moved  over  the  lines  for  their 
protection  against  Indians.  Even  this  small 
benefit  to  the  Government  was  afterward  reduced 
by  a  ruling  that  the  stipulation  regarding  the 
transportation  of  troops  meant  only  that  there 
should  be  no  charges  for  trackage,  but  did  not 
oblige  the  company  to  furnish  cars  free.  It  is  also 
worth  while  for  those  who  appear  to  feel  that  Mex- 
ico should  be  rescued  from  the  consequences  of 
improvident  railroad  subsidies  granted,  to  consider 
the  manner  in  which  the  subsidies  were  dealt  with 
by  the  interests  building  the  Mexican  and  the 
American  railroads  respectively. 

Nothing  with  which  foreigners  have  been  con- 
nected in  Mexico  has  been  more  bitterly  denounced 
by  Carranza  propagandists  than  the  railroads  built 
by  American  investors  with  the  aid  of  subsidies. 
One  of  the  bitterest  and  most  mendacious  of  these 
denunciations  appears  in  a  somewhat  portentous 
volume  by  DeLara  and  Pinchon  published  in  New 
York  under  the  title  of  "The  Mexican  People: 
Their  Struggle  for  Freedom/'  a  few  months  after 
the  Carranza  revolution  began.  In  a  chapter 
entitled  "The  Railways"  are  some  statements 


ii4  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

which  we  quote  as  examples  of  the  kind  of  prop- 
aganda circulated  by  the  Carrancistas.  The 
italics  appear  as  in  the  book: 

"  Not  a  dollar  of  American  capital  has  been  ex- 
pended anywhere  or  at  any  time  in  the  building 
of  Mexican  railroads.  They  were  built  entirely  by 
Mexican  capital.  And  what  is  more,  they  were  so 
immensely  oversubsidized,  that  in  many  cases  they 
were  built  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  subsidy,  and  in 
such  a  fashion  as  to  be  useless  for  transportation: 
e.g.,  the  lines  from  El  Paso  and  Laredo  to  Mexico 
City.  It  is  true  that  these  railroad  stocks  were  the 
playthings  of  American  speculators;  and  that  such 
railroads  as  Mexico  possesses  have  come  into  a 
bastard  existence  as  a  result  of  the  cupidity  and 
lawlessness  of  American  promoters  and  stock 
gamblers,  but  this  indicates  the  limit  of  America's 
service  to  Mexico  in  this  respect*  *  *  * 

"These  much-lauded  railroads  and  govern- 
ment enterprises  cost  the  nation  unnumbered 
millions  procured  by  the  most  extortionate  tax- 
ation. Not  a  dollar  of  foreign  capital  was  used 
in  financing  them.  They  were  wrought  out  by  the 
toil  of  the  common  people  and  financed  by  the 
money  of  the  common  people.  Even  so,  for  every 
million  dollars  expended  in  actual  construction,  at 
least  three  million  dollars  was  wasted  in  bribery 
and  embezzlement." 

That  part  of  the  above  quotation  which  says: 
"They  were  built  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  subsidy, 
in  such  fashion  as  to  be  useless  for  transportation: 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          115 

e.g.  the  lines  from  El  Paso  and  Laredo  to  Mexico 
City/'  refers  to  the  Mexican  Central  Railroad 
which  was  built  under  a  subsidy  of  %\ 5,311  per 
mile  granted  by  the  law  appearing  as  Appendix  I. 
If,  as  stated  in  the  foregoing  quotation,  "for  every 
million  dollars  expended  in  actual  construction, 
at  least  three  million  dollars  was  wasted  in  bribery 
and  embezzlement,"  then  the  portion  of  the  sub- 
sidy granted  for  the  Mexican  Central  Railroad 
actually  applied  to  its  construction  was  $3,828 
per  mile.  A  little  analysis  will  show  how  much 
credence  this  statement  deserves. 

If  the  line  was  laid  with  75-pound  steel  rails,  132 
tons  per  mile  would  have  been  required  which  at 
$28  a  ton,  the  standard  price  for  years,  would  have 
amounted  to  $3,696,  f.  o.  b.  the  mills  at  Pittsburgh 
or  Chicago.  This  would  leave  a  balance  of  $132 
to  pay  for  such  essentials  as  angle  bars,  bolts, 
spikes,  and  ties,  not  to  mention  such  details  as 
freight  charges  for  all  material  for  long  distances, 
grading,  track-laying,  and  equipping  the  line.  It 
does  seem  doubtful  that  so  much  could  be  done 
for  $132  a  mile,  even  in  Mexico. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Mexican  Central  runs 
for  several  hundred  miles  through  a  desert  in  which 
construction  was  exceptionally  expensive  because, 
not  merely  all  material,  but  food  for  the  men, 
forage  for  the  animals,  and  even  drinking  water  for' 
iJoth  had  to  be  transported  long  distances  at  great 


n6  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

expense.  The  desert  terrain  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Sierras,  through  which  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  was  constructed  is  similar  to  that 
through  which  the  Mexican  Central  was  built.  A 
reference  to  Appendix  1 1  will  show  that  in  addition 
to  a  subsidy  of  12,800  acres  of  land  per  mile  a  cost 
of  $64,000  per  mile  was  provided  for,  one-half  be- 
ing loaned  by  the  Government  on  a  second  mort- 
gage, the  other  half  to  be  raised  by  the  company 
on  its  first  mortgage  bonds.  While  the  cost  of 
constructing  the  Central  Pacific  was  excessive, 
beyond  question,  the  excess  could  hardly  have  been 
near  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  cost.  Yet  we  are 
asked  by  these  champions  of  the  Carranza  revolu- 
tion to  believe  that  the  "American  speculators" 
who  constructed  the  Mexican  Central  Railroad, 
accomplished  that  expensive  work  for  a  cost  of 
$3,828  per  mile,  and  that  they  did  a  great  wrong 
to  Mexico  by  accepting  the  government  subsidy 
of  $15,31 1  per  mile,  although  it  carried  with  it  the 
obligation  to  transport  mails  free  of  charge  for 
ninety-nine  years  and  the  provision  that  at  the 
end  of  that  period  the  road  should  become  the 
property  of  the  government  free  of  all  liens  or 
encumbrances  without  the  payment  of  additional 
compensation. 

To  say  that  the  statement  above  quoted,  that 
"not  a  dollar  of  foreign  capital  was  used  in  financ- 
ing" these  subsidized  railroads  is  false,  would 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  117 

hardly  express  the  reckless  disregard  for  truth 
which  characterizes  the  writers  of  the  book  referred 
to  as  well  as  every  other  Carrancista  propagandist 
who  has  endeavoured  to  poison  the  minds  of  the 
American  people  with  their  outgivings.  Further- 
more, the  Mexican  subsidized  railroads,  after  their 
construction,  were  managed  with  such  honesty 
that,  some  years  before  the  end  of  the  Diaz  ad- 
ministration, it  became  evident  that  it  would  be  a 
good  investment  for  the  Mexican  Government  to 
purchase  the  controlling  interest  in  the  stock  of 
the  Mexican  Central  Railroad,  which  the  writer 
quoted  says  "was  built  solely  for  the  sake  of  the 
subsidy  and  in  such  fashion  as  to  be  useless  for 
transportation/'  This  purchase  was  made  by 
the  Diaz  government  and  its  wisdom  as  a  business 
venture  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  when  Diaz  went 
out  of  power  the  net  earnings  of  the  Mexican 
Central  Railroad  were  sufficient  to  pay  interest 
on  all  of  its  indebtedness  and  to  pay  an  annual 
dividend  of  5  per  cent,  upon  its  preferred  stock. 
The  road  never  found  it  necessary  to  go  through 
a  receivership,  nor  was  its  operation  ever  crippled 
by  financial  reverses.  Compare  this  with  the 
record  made  by  the  companies  constructing  the 
Union  and  Central  Pacific  lines. 

Notwithstanding  the  enormous  land  and  bond 
subsidies  granted  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  its 
promoters  were  so  greedy  that  they  attempted 


n8  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

to  secure  additional  advantages  through  national 
legislation.  This  attempt  resulted  in  what  has 
come  to  be  known  as  the  Credit  Mobilier  scandal. 
An  investigation  by  Congress  disclosed  a  shameful 
scandal  involving  the  bribing  of  a  number  of  its 
members.  The  inquiry  culminated  in  a  report 
recommending  the  impeachment  of  two  Congress- 
men. In  addition  to  this,  so  improvidently,  reck- 
lessly, and  dishonestly  were  the  finances  of  the 
Union  Pacific  managed  that  it  passed  through  two 
receiverships  before  it  finally  reached  a  position 
of  stable  financial  organization. 

While  the  Central  Pacific  was  never  permitted 
by  its  promoters  to  reach  a  condition  of  bank- 
ruptcy, it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  four  men 
who  promoted  it  organized  the  "Contract  and 
Finance  Company,"  which  acted  as  an  inter- 
mediary between  the  railroad  company  and  the 
Government,  doing  the  construction  work,  and 
collecting  the  cash  subsidy.  When  the  road  was 
finished  and  put  into  operation,  it  was  found  that 
the  organizers  of  this  construction  company,  who 
were  men  of  very  moderate  means  when  they 
undertook  the  enterprise,  had  all  become  million- 
aires. This  fact,  together  with  the  scandals  which 
were  unearthed  by  government  investigation  of 
the  Union  Pacific,  suggested  similar  investigation 
of  the  Central  Pacific  construction.  When  this 
investigation  took  place  and  it  became  necessary 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  119 

to  examine  the  books  of  the  "Contract  and  Finance 
Company"  in  order  to  ascertain  the  actual  cost  of 
the  construction  work  upon  which  the  government 
subsidies  had  been  drawn  it  was  found  that  they 
had  all  been  destroyed. 

The  fact  is  that  there  can  be  no  comparison 
between  the  care  shown  for  the  interests  of  the 
Mexican  Government  in  the  handling  of  aid  to 
railroad  construction  and  the  utter  lack  of  care 
exhibited  by  our  own  Government  under  similar 
circumstances. 

In  order  to  justify  their  dishonest  invasion  of 
the  rights  of  foreigners  who  made  investments  in 
Mexico  previous  to  and  during  the  Diaz  period, 
the  Carrancistas  have  assumed  the  attitude  that 
foreigners  who  financed  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads, either  by  buying  the  bonds  of  the  nation 
issued  to  secure  the  cash  subsidies  granted  or  by 
supplying  the  additional  cost  committed  a  great 
wrong  against  their  country.  Certainly  no  one 
will  undertake  to  argue  that  the  railroads  are  not  a 
valuable  economic  asset  to  the  country.  Even 
under  the  wretched  and  dishonest  management 
that  they  have  had  at  the  hands  of  the  Carrancista 
government,  they  have  contributed  greatly  to  the 
welfare  of  Mexico.  It  is  very  certain  that  unless 
these  roads  had  been  constructed  by  foreign  capital 
they  would  not  have'been  built  at  all,  for  the  gov- 
ernment was  unable  to  pay  the  subsidies  save  by 


120  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

selling  bonds  to  foreigners,  and  the  subsidies 
granted  did  not  anything  like  defray  the  cost  of 
constructing  and  equipping  them. 

A  country  as  wealthy  as  the  United  States  has 
been  for  many  years  was  not  able  to  finance  the 
construction  of  her  railroads.  At  one  time,  in 
addition  to  holding  the  major  portion  of  the  bond 
issues  of  our  principal  railroads,  foreign  investors, 
as  shown  by  Wm.  G.  Ripley  in  his  work  on  "  Rail- 
road Finance  and  Organization/'  in  the  period 
from  1890  to  1896  held  the  absolute  majority  of 
the  stock  issues  in  at  least  five  of  them;  namely, 
Illinois  Central,  65  per  cent.;  Pennsylvania,  52  per 
cent.;  Louisville  and  Nashville,  75  per  cent.;  New 
York,  Ontario  and  Western,  58  per  cent. ;  Reading, 
52  per  cent.  At  the  present  time,  on  account  of 
the  great  prosperity  which  the  industry  and  thrift 
of  the  people  of  our  country  have  produced,  the  for- 
eign holdings  of  the  stocks  and  bonds  of  American 
railroads  have  been  almost  entirely  wiped  out  by  the 
purchase  of  these  securities  by  American  investors. 

The  difference  between  this  country  and  Mexico 
under  her  Latin-Mexican  masters  in  their  treat- 
ment of  foreign  investors  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
matter  of  investments  in  railroads  in  the  two  coun- 
tries. The  Americans  welcomed  foreign  capital 
in  the  development  of  great  business  enterprises 
and  depended  upon  their  own  industry  and  thrift 
eventually  to  acquire  the  properties  by  purchasing 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  121 

the  securities.  To-day  almost  every  dollar  of  for- 
eign capital  that  was  invested  in  our  railroads  has 
been  returned  and  the  bonds  and  stocks  which 
represent  this  capital  are  owned  by  our  people.  As 
a  result,  we  were  able  to  finance  the  billions  of 
expenditure  for  the  war  by  floating  national  bonds 
at  a  lower  rate  of  interest  than  any  other  country 
involved  was  able  to  secure. 

The  controlling  elements  in  Mexico  have  found 
what  they  conceive  to  be  a  much  easier  method 
of  balancing  their  account  with  foreign  investors 
by  confiscating  the  railroads  and  refusing  to  pay 
a  dollar  upon  the  principal  or  interest  of  the 
securities  issued  for  their  construction.  The 
result  is  that  to-day  Mexico's  credit  is  so  poor  that 
although  she  has  been  desperately  endeavouring 
to  raise  money  in  the  markets  of  the  world  for  the 
last  three  years  she  has  been  unable  to  secure  one 
cent  from  foreign  investors  to  meet  the  needs  of  her 
government.  Do  not  these  contrasting  conditions 
suggest  to  those  of  our  own  citizens,  among  whom 
are  some  of  our  government  officials,  who  have  been 
encouraging,  or  at  least  palliating  and  excusing, 
the  actions  of  the  Carranza  government  that  they 
are  really  doing  a  deadly  injury  to  that  country? 

FOREIGN    INVESTMENTS    IN    MEXICAN    MINES 

The  supporters  of  the  present  order,  or  more 
correctly  disorder,  now  existing  in  Mexico,  in  their 


122  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

efforts  to  win  the  sympathy  of  the  world,  dwell 
with  much  insistence  upon  the  allegation  that  for- 
eigners, particularly  Americans,  have  exploited, 
to  their  benefit  and  to  the  injury  of  the  country, 
its  mineral  resources,  more  especially  gold,  silver, 
and  copper. 

While  it  is  true  that  considerable  foreign  capital, 
mostly  American,  during  the  past  seventy-five 
years  and  particularly  during  the  Diaz  regime 
when  law  and  order  reigned,  was  invested  in  mining, 
history  shows  that  the  enterprises  carried  on  by 
foreigners  really  resulted  in  taking  very  little  from 
the  mineral  resources  of  the  country  that  was 
available  and  valuable  to  its  inhabitants. 

Mexico,  when  conquered  by  the  Spaniards,  was 
enormously  rich  in  gold  and  silver,  and  for  the  first 
three  hundred  years  of  Spanish  control  it  con- 
tributed immense  amounts  of  those  metals  to 
Spain.  During  this  time,  the  Mexicans  became 
excellent  prospectors,  and  were  so  successful  in  dis- 
covering the  rich  deposits  of  gold  and  silver  that 
during  the  last  hundred  years  few  new  deposits 
have  been  found  that  were  sufficiently  rich  to  pay 
for  working  by  the  primitive  methods  employed 
by  the  natives.  Furthermore,  during  the  period 
when  foreigners  became  interested  in  Mexican 
mining,  it  was  impossible  for  Diaz,  or  any  other 
head  of  the  government,  to  grant  any  special 
privileges,  or  rights,  to  favoured  beneficiaries,  for 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  123 

the  reason  that  a  very  carefully  thought-out  and 
excellent  code  of  mining  laws  prescribed,  as  do 
those  of  the  United  States,  the  methods  by  which 
mineral  deposits  might  be  secured  and  worked.  A 
study  of  the  history  of  precious-metal  mining  in 
Mexico  during  the  past  three  quarters  of  a  century 
will  show  that  the  principal  enterprises  conducted 
by  foreigners  were  of  three  kinds  and  usually 
involved  securing  the  mines  from  private  owners. 

First:  the  reopening  of  mines  upon  which  work 
had  ceased  because  the  Mexican  miners  had  carried 
the  workings  down  to  a  depth  at  which  it  became 
impossible  with  their  primitive  equipment  to  con- 
trol the  water,  and  they  had  been  driven  out.  The 
foreigners,  by  applying  modern  high-powered 
pumps,  were  enabled  to  unwater  these  mines 
and  to  follow  the  deposits  to  greater  depths  than 
could  ever  have  been  reached  by  the  Mexicans. 

Second:  the  handling  of  large  deposits  of  low- 
grade  ores  which  by  the  primitive  methods  of  the 
Mexicans  could  never  have  been  treated  with  pro- 
fit, but  which,  by  the  application  of  modern  im- 
provements, permitting  large  quantities  of  ore  to 
be  handled  cheaply,  enabled  the  foreigner  to  make 
a  profit. 

Third:  in  re- working  great  dumps  of  material 
that  had  once  been  worked  by  Mexican  miners 
whose  primitive  methods  failed  to  extract  all  the 
values.  From  these  old  dumps  the  foreigner  with 


i24  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

his  modern  methods  and  machinery  was  able  to 
extract  a  profit. 

During  the  first  three  hundred  years  following 
the  conquest  of  Mexico,  very  much  the  larger  part 
of  the  richest  deposits  of  gold  and  silver  had  been 
discovered  and  exhausted  to  the  extent  that  the 
Spanish  methods  of  mining  permitted.  When 
the  revolution  against  Spain  began,  mining  was 
nothing  like  as  important  as  it  had  been;  and,  of 
course,  the  disturbed  conditions  during  the  eleven- 
year  contest  for  freedom  further  reduced  that 
industry.  Little  was  done  to  revive  it  until  some- 
time after  1830  when,  encouraged  by  the  hope  that 
the  country  would  have  a  government  of  some 
stability,  the  English  were  first  among  foreigners 
to  begin  taking  an  active  part  in  mining.  A  brief 
resume  of  the  development  of  the  principal  silver- 
and  gold-mining  centres  in  Mexico  follows. 

SILVER  MINES 

Pachuca,  State  of  Hidalgo.  This  camp  was  dis- 
covered by  the  Spaniards  and  operated  by  them 
for  many  years.  In  this  operation,  most  of  the 
deposit  available  under  Spanish  methods  of  mining 
was  exhausted  and  that  fact,  together  with  the 
unsettled  conditions  produced  by  the  revolution 
beginning  in  1810,  resulted  in  a  suspension  of  min- 
ing activity  in  this  centre.  About  1830  English 
capital  became  interested  in  these  mines  and  by 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  125 

installing  steam-driven  Cornish  pumps,  the  new 
owners  were  able  to  operate  them  with  considera- 
ble success  until  work  was  greatly  curtailed  in 
1893  by  the  drop  in  the  price  of  silver.  Later, 
American  capital  joined  with  British  in  working 
these  mines  and  the  American  engineers,  by  in- 
troducing the  cyanide  process  of  treating  the  ores, 
and  cheap  power  for  operating  the  pumps  and 
mining  machinery  from  hydroelectric  develop- 
ments in  the  vicinity,  again  brought  prosperity 
to  this  section,  so  that  shortly  before  the  revolu- 
tion of  1910,  Pachuca  production  of  pure  metallic 
silver  was  about  1.5  tons  per  day,  making  it  the 
leading  producer  of  silver  in  Mexico  and  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  world.  But  this  result  was 
achieved  with  low-grade  ores  which  could  never 
have  been  mined  or  reduced  at  a  profit  by  Mexican 
methods. 

Guanajuato,  State  of  Guanajuato.  The  history 
of  this  section  corresponds  closely  to  that  of 
Pachuca,  although  the  ores  are  of  a  somewhat 
lower  grade.  After  work  under  Mexican  methods 
of  mining  had  been  suspended  for  a  period,  Ameri- 
cans undertook  to  apply  modern  processes  of  min- 
ing and  ore-reduction  and,  in  doing  so,  invested 
large  sums.  They  applied  cheap  electric  power, 
supplied  by  the  Central  Mexico  Light  and  Power 
Company  owned  by  capitalists  of  Colorado 
Springs,  Colorado.  Much  of  the  ore  treated  came 


126  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

from  the  old  dumps  in  which  it  had  been  left  owing 
to  the  inefficient  methods  of  the  Mexicans,  and 
much  other  ore  was  obtained  from  the  workings 
where  it  had  been  permitted  to  remain  as  being 
of  a  grade  too  low  to  be  treated  by  the  old  methods. 

At  one  time  there  were  employed  in  this  camp 
about  12,000  Mexican  miners  and  mill  men.  Some 
of  the  money  paid  in  wages  to  these  men  reached 
the  farmers  in  the  vicinity  who  raised  crops  to  feed 
the  mining  population,  and  produced  a  condition 
of  great  local  agricultural  prosperity.  This  work 
was  suspended  when  our  Government  ordered  all 
Americans  to  leave  Mexico  and  return  to  the 
United  States,  and  these  thousands  of  Mexican 
labourers  who  were -making  a  good  living  and  the 
Mexican  farmers,  who  were  furnishing  the  food  for 
the  labourers,  have  been  the  greatest  sufferers. 

Sierra  Mojada,  State  of  Coabuila.  This  im- 
portant producer  of  lead  silver  ores  is  located  in  a 
waterless  desert  and,  contrary  to  the  general  rule, 
was  not  discovered  by  the  Spaniards.  Work  upon 
it  was  begun  in  1880  by  a  number  of  Mexican 
miners  and  mining  companies.  The  work  pro- 
ceeded with  indifferent  results  due  to  inefficient 
smelting  methods  and  lack  of  transportation  until 
1890  when  American  capital  built  a  railroad  eighty- 
five  miles  in  length  connecting  the  camp  with  the 
main  line  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railway,  thus 
affording  an  outlet  for  the  ores  which,  because  of 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  127 

their  character,  had  to  be  treated  in  modern  smelt- 
ing furnaces  in  order  to  recover  the  silver  they 
contained.  At  first  the  ores  were  shipped  to 
Argentine,  Kansas,  later  to  El  Paso,  Texas,  and 
still  later  to  smelters  in  San  Luis  Potosi  and  Aguas 
Calientes,  also  built  and  operated  by  Americans. 
At  one  time  prior  to  the  present  revolution,  the 
camp  of  Sierra  Mojada  produced  ore  at  the  rate 
of  about  1,000  tons  per  day,  from  which  one  ton  of 
pure  silver  was  extracted.  A  number  of  the  more 
important  mines  remained  in  the  hands  of  their 
original  Mexican  owners,  but  were  operated  under 
the  direction  of  American  mining  engineers.  The 
camp  is  now  entirely  inactive  due  to  the  precarious 
railway  transportation  and  because  of  its  exposed 
situation  inviting  bandit  raids.  In  the  meantime, 
of  course,  thousands  of  Mexican  miners,  who  were 
earning  good  livings,  have  been  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment and  have  really  been  the  greatest  suf- 
ferers by  this  suspension  of  an  important  industry 
carried  on  by  American  capital  and  enterprise. 

Santa  Eulalia,  State  of  Chihuahua.  This  im- 
portant camp  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  of 
Chihuahua  was  discovered  and  worked  by  the 
Spaniards  at  an  early  date,  but  the  output  was 
never  very  important,  because  the  operators  tried 
to  smelt  the  lead  silver  ores  in  antiquated  furnaces 
made  of  stone  and  adobe.  Production  here  did 
not  reach  full  tide  until  American  capital  erected 


128  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

large  smelting  works  at  Chihuahua  which  enabled 
the  mines  to  produce  profitably  a  large  tonnage  of 
relatively  low-grade  ore.  In  point  of  tonnage, 
this  camp  surpassed  Sierra  Mojada  just  before  the 
present  revolution,  but  a  portion  of  the  output  of 
the  mines  was  zinc  ore  which  was  shipped  to 
Kansas  and  Oklahoma  to  be  treated  by  modern 
methods,  aided  by  cheap  fuel. 

Parraly  State  of  Chihuahua.  This  had  been  one 
of  the  old  bonanza  camps  of  the  Spaniards,  who, 
after  extracting  the  high-grade  and  easily  worked 
ores,  abandoned  it  as  unprofitable.  Activities 
were  not  resumed  until  Boston  capitalists  extended 
a  branch  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railroad  to 
Parral  and  Santa  Barbara  in  1900.  Following  this 
there  was  a  period  of  great  activity  involving  the 
investment  of  many  millions  of  American  capital 
in  the  development  of  mining  properties  and  the 
erection  of  large  cyanide  and  concentrating  mills. 
Perhaps  half  of  these  yielded  favourable  results, 
although  on  the  whole  the  camp  has  never  returned 
more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the  money  spent  by 
the  Americans.  The  camp  was  not  supplied  with 
cheap  hydroelectric  power,  although  a  Canadian 
company  had  about  completed  a  large  plant  for 
this  purpose  just  before  operations  had  to  be 
suspended  on  account  of  the  last  revolution.  One 
of  the  best-known  mines  of  the  camp  was  the 
Palmilla,  owned  by  a  native  Mexican  named  Pedro 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  129 

Alvarado.  This  mine  was  unusually  rich,  and 
for  a  time  Alvarado  demonstrated  his  prosperity 
to  the  world  in  rather  a  spectacular  fashion,  among 
other  things,  offering  to  pay  the  national  debt  of 
Mexico,  and  in  constructing  a  palace  at  Parral  said 
to  have  cost  about  half  a  million  dollars.  How- 
ever, when  his  bonanza  was  worked  out  and  after 
he  had  spent  most  of  his  fortune  in  search  of 
another,  he  decided  to  dispose  of  his  mining  in- 
terests to  a  strong  Boston  company,  which  built 
a  large  cyanide  plant,  installed  machinery,  and 
invested  money  and  intelligent  effort  in  de- 
veloping the  low  grade  ores  which  Alvarado  had 
left  behind  as  valueless.  This  camp  has  remained 
inactive  since  the  last  American  there  was  mur- 
dered by  so-called  revolutionists,  although  some 
small  undertakings  were  subsequently  carried  on 
under  German  auspices. 

The  other  and  less  important  silver  camps  of 
Mexico  were  scattered  all  over  the  republic  and 
are  too  numerous  to  specify  in  detail,  but  with 
hardly  any  exceptions  they  had  been  exploited 
by  Spaniards  or  Mexicans  at  one  time  or  another, 
had  then  been  abandoned  as  unprofitable  and  later 
taken  up  and  worked  by  American  or  European 
capital,  usually  expended  under  the  direction  of 
American  mining  engineers  or  practical  miners 
who  had  no  interest  other  than  that  of  an  employee 
earning  his  livelihood  by  his  ability  and  education, 


130  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

teaching  American  methods  and  the  use  of  Amer- 
ican mining  machinery  to  the  native  Mexicans, 
thereby  increasing  their  value  to  their  families  and 
to  their  country. 

GOLD  MINES 

El  Oro,  State  of  Mexico.  In  recent  years,  this 
camp  has  been  the  most  important  producer  of 
gold  in  Mexico.  It  was  not  worked  by  the  Span- 
iards or  Mexicans  who  overlooked  it  because  the 
ores  did  not  out-crop  on  the  surface.  The  pro- 
fessional knowledge  of  mining  engineers  was 
required  to  reveal  the  existence  of  the  ore  under  the 
surface.  The  large  mines  were  developed  by 
British  and  French  capital,  the  former  being 
expended  under  the  direction  of  American  mining 
engineers,  who  also  built  the  railway  connecting 
the  camp  with  the  outside  world.  Before  the 
revolution,  this  camp  gave  employment  to  about 
7,000  men.  The  ores  were  treated  by  the  cyanide 
process  introduced  by  Americans. 

San  Pedro,  State  of  San  Luis  Potosi.  The  vast 
gold  deposits  of  this  camp  were  discovered  by  the 
Spaniards  and  since  that  event  mining  activity  has 
never  ceased.  Due  to  the  fact  that  the  mines  were 
dry  and  the  ores  were  amenable  to  smelting  in 
primitive  adobe  furnaces,  Spanish  methods  were 
unusually  successful  and  resulted  in  the  production 
of  gold  by  them  to  the  amount  of  some  hundreds  of 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          131 

millions.  So  valuable  and  successful  were  these 
mines  that  the  City  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  said  to  have 
been  at  one  time  the  second  largest  centre  of 
population  in  Mexico,  was  built  near  them.  How- 
ever, the  exhaustion  of  the  high-grade  ores  de- 
stroyed the  prosperity  of  the  city  and  it  was  later 
reduced  to  the  population  of  a  small  town.  Long 
before  1890,  the  high-grade  ores  had  been  ex- 
hausted and  operations  were  confined  to  the  efforts 
of  Mexican  miners  scratching  around  in  the  old 
workings  for  a  few  remnants  of  the  former  great 
bonanza  and  in  picking  over  the  old  dumps  and 
waste  material  rejected  during  the  bonanza  days. 
Later,  an  American  company  built  a  modern 
smelter  in  the  city  of  San  Luis  Potosi  and  this 
enabled  the  Mexican  owners  to  increase  their 
operations -and  handle  certain  refractory  ores  to 
which  their  own  methods  could  not  be  applied. 
Thus  a  measure  of  prosperity  returned  to  the  camp 
and  was  continued  until  1903,  when  it  again  be- 
came necessary  to  reduce  operations  to  a  negligible 
minimum  on  account  of  the  low  grade  of  the  ores 
and  the  primitive  methods  employed  in  their 
extraction.  The  American  company  owning  the 
smelter  was  then  induced  to  take  a  lease  on  the 
mining  property  at  San  Pedro  under  a  system  of 
tribute,  or  royalty,  to  the  native  Mexican  owners,' 
which  is  still  in  effect.  Because  of  large  sums 
expended  in  development  work,  new  shafts, 


132  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

modern  machinery,  and  the  construction  of  a  rail- 
way from  the  smelter  to  the  mines,  the  output 
gradually  increased  until  in  1911  it  amounted  to 
about  700  tons  of  ore  per  day  and  gave  employ- 
ment to  some  2,000  people.  Again  hydro- 
electric power,  supplied  by  American  capital, 
was  a  factor  in  the  successful  operation  of  these 
low-grade  properties  where  the  product  was  made 
up  exclusively  of  material  rejected  by  the  Span- 
iards and  Mexicans,  who  gutted  the  best  part  and 
allowed  the  rest  to  cave  and  become  mixed  with 
valueless  country  rock. 

COPPER  MINES 

With  a  few  unimportant  exceptions,  the  Span- 
iards were  never  able  to  exploit  copper  ores  in 
Mexico  successfully;  therefore,  all  of  the  copper 
mines  which  have  been  operated  in  the  recent  past 
were  developed  by  foreign  capital.  In  the  order 
of  their  importance,  these  copper  properties  are 
located  and  owned,  as  follows: 

Cananea,  State  of  Sonora.  Owned  by  American 
capital. 

Boleo,  Lower  Calijarnia.  Owned  by  French 
capital. 

Tettfutlan,  State  of  Pueblo.  Owned  by  American 
and  Italian  capital. 

Mateluala,  State  of  San  Luis  Potosi.  Owned  by 
American  capital. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  133 

Aguas  Calientes,  State  of  \Aguas  Calientes. 
Owned  by  American  capital. 

The  refractory  nature  of  these  copper  ores,  all 
of  which  are  sulphide,  required  the  expenditure  of 
large  sums  for  the  erection  of  blast  furnaces  and 
accessories,  and  the  skill  and  knowledge  possessed 
by  American  engineers.  In  the  course  of  develop- 
ing these  mines,  a  great  number  of  unsuccessful 
enterprises  were  undertaken  and  a  vast  amount 
of  American  effort  and  money  expended  without 
the  return  of  any  profits. 

In  conclusion,  it  should  be  noted  that  cheap 
coal  and  coke,  the  use  of  cheap  hydroelectric 
power,  together  with  effective  railway  transpor- 
tation, all  of  which  were  supplied  by  foreign 
capital,  have  played  a  most  important  part  in  the 
development  during  the  last  thirty  years  of 
Mexico's  great  mining  industry. 

None  of  the  mines  owned  or  operated  by  for- 
eigners was  ever  acquired  as  a  concession  or  grant 
through  the  favouritism  of  Diaz,  or  any  other  head 
of  the  Mexican  Government.  They  were,  in 
nearly  all  instances,  either  purchased  or  leased 
from  Mexican  owners  and  were  all  acquired  under 
the  general  laws  governing  the  acquisition  of 
mineral  properties.  Very  much  the  larger  num- 
ber of  them  represented  a  character  of  mining  which 
the  Mexicans  would  not,  and  could  not,  have 
pursued  because  they  had  not  the  initiative,  the 


134  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

capital,  or  the  engineering  knowledge  required. 
Whatever  wealth  was  taken  out  of  them  by  the 
foreigners  would  never  have  been  accessible  to 
the  Mexicans.  The  employment  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  natives  and  the  distribution  of  much 
money  in  the  form  of  wages,  cost  of  food  stuffs, 
and  so  forth,  represented  just  so  much  economic 
value  which  would  never  have  been  acquired 
save  for  the  investment  of  foreign  capital  and 
intelligence. 

Any  one  who  may  be  inclined  to  doubt  the 
possibility  of  the  exhaustion  of  easily  worked 
gold  and  silver  mines  in  Mexico  during  the  three 
hundred  years  of  Spanish  rule  will  find  the  history 
of  gold  mining  in  California  enlightening.  A 
pamphlet  issued  by  the  California  State  Mining 
Bureau  entitled  "California  Mineral  Production 
for  1915"  contains  a  very  carefully  compiled 
table  showing  the  annual  gold  production  of  that 
state  from  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  by 
Marshall  in  1848,  to  and  including  the  year  1915. 
That  table  shows  that  the  total  production  for 
the  sixty-eight  years  amounted  to  the  enormous 
value  of  $1,631, 183,696.  The  precious  metal,  it 
will  be  borne  in  mind,  was  first  found  in  large 
placer  deposits  easily  accessible  by  primitive 
methods  of  mining.  The  production  in  1848, 
the  year  of  the  discovery  of  gold,  amounted  to 
$245, 301.  The  annual  production  increased  so 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  135 

rapidly  that  in  1852,  the  fifth  year  after  the  dis- 
covery, it  reached  the  maximum  production  of 
$8 i, 294,700.  More  than  half  of  the  total  pro- 
duction for  the  sixty-eight  years  was  made  in  the 
first  twenty  years  after  the  discovery  of  gold. 
The  production  rapidly  decreased  after  reaching 
its  maximum  in  1852,  until  it  had  fallen  in  1889 
to  $  1 1, 2 1 9, 913.  Meanwhile  the  exhaustion  of 
the  easily  accessible  placer  deposits  had  directed 
the  attention  of  miners  to  the  values  carried  in 
veins  and  in  low-grade  placer  deposits  which  could 
only  be  worked  by  the  expensive  mechanical  process 
known  as  dredging.  Both  vein  mining  and  placer 
dredging  require  the  investment  of  large  sums  of 
money  and  the  use  of  a  much  higher  degree  of  skill. 
By  these  methods,  the  gold  production  of  the  state 
has  beeji  gradually  increased  until  in  1915  it 
reached  the  value  of  $22,442, 296,  but  it  has  never 
approached  the  maximum  realized  in  the  fifth 
year  after  the  discovery  of  gold. 

When  it  is  recalled  that  the  population  of  Mexico 
was  much  more  dense  than  that  of  California  when 
gold  was  discovered  and  that  for  three  hundred 
years  the  people  had  been  engaged  in  gold  and 
silver  mining,  and  the  development  of  that  in- 
dustry had  been  stimulated  by  the  urgent  demands 
of  the  mother  country  for  the  payment  of  tribute 
in  these  precious  metals,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
probability  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  easily  access- 


136  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

ible  deposits  after  three  hundred  years  was  very 
great,  and  that  these  deposits  were  so  exhausted 
everyone  familiar  with  the  history  of  mining  in 
Mexico  knows. 

Careful  study  will  show  the  accusation,  so  often 
repeated  by  revolutionists  bent  upon  confiscation, 
that  the  Mexican  people  have  been  robbed  of  great 
mineral  wealth  by  foreigners,  to  be  a  pure  inven- 
tion of  men  desirous  of  justifying,  or  palliating, 
the  wrongs  they  have  perpetrated.  The  net 
result  up  to  date  of  the  seven  years  of  revolutionary 
aggression  upon  the  foreign-owned  mining  in- 
vestments is  that  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
Mexican  labourers,  who  were  earning  wages  many 
times  greater  than  they  were  ever  paid  by  their 
former  Latin-Mexican  employers,  have  been 
denied  the  opportunity  to  make  a  living,  and  have 
been  reduced  to  conditions  of  misery  and  suffering 
almost  without  a  parallel  even  in  the  history  of 
their  own  turbulent  country. 

FOREIGN    INVESTMENTS    IN    MEXICAN     LANDS 

Since  Mexico  became  self-governing  the  agrarian 
question  has  been  most  often  assigned  as  the  cause 
for  the  political  unrest  which  has  formed  so  large 
a  part  of  her  history.  As,  previous  to  the  Diaz 
regime  with  its  enforced  law  and  order,  few  for- 
eigners had  acquired  land  in  Mexico,  the  com- 
plaint against  agrarian  conditions  prior  to  that 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          137 

period  was  that  the  lands  were  monopolized  by  the 
Latin  element,  which  had  originally  acquired  them 
in  large  holdings  after  the  conquest  by  Cortes. 
This  condition  it  was  asserted,  and  with  much 
truth,  had  been  continued  by  the  successors  of  the 
original  Latin  conquerors,  thus  denying  the  native 
or  peon  population  an  opportunity  to  acquire  an 
interest  in  the  lands. 

It  is  true  that  since  Mexico  became  independent 
there  has  been  considerable  change  in  the  owner- 
ship of  lands.  Every  revolutionary  movement 
has  been  characterized  by  the  looting  of  personal 
property  and,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  where 
revolutions  have  been  successful,  they  have  been 
followed  by  the  confiscation  of  real  property, 
owned  by  the  supporters  of  the  losing  faction,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  successful  revolutionists.  But, 
inasmuch  as  the  confiscated  lands  were  distributed 
to  the  leaders  of  the  successful  party  and  they  were 
almost  universally  representative  of  the  ruling 
Latin  race,  the  relation  of  the  peon  masses  to  land- 
holding  was  little  affected  by  these  changes  in 
ownership. 

It  is  true  that  Juarez,  after  he  returned  to  power 
at  the  end  of  the  Maximilian  epoch,  did  confiscate 
numbers  of  large  real-estate  holdings  of  the  Church 
with  some  that  had  been  owned  by  supporters  of 
Maximilian,  and  provided  for  their  division  among 
the  working  class.  He  did  this  because,  being  of 


138  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

pure  Indian  blood,  he  was  most  sympathetic  with 
the  peon  class  and  because,  being  an  honest  man 
and  a  patriot,  he  made  an  honest  effort  to  carry 
out  the  promises  he  had  made  to  redress  unfavour- 
able agrarian  conditions.  But  his  tenure  of  office, 
and  life,  ended  soon  after  the  beginning  of  this 
effort  to  establish  conditions  more  just  to  the 
masses,  and  the  beneficiaries  of  his  distribution  of 
lands  being  unable  to  hold  them  against  the  mach- 
inations of  the  governing  Latin  element,  Juarez's 
efforts  to  readjust  agrarian  conditions  met  with  the 
same  ultimate  failure  that  had  followed  the  few 
other  attempts  to  put  the  masses  of  the  people  into 
possession  of  some  of  the  lands. 

When  Diaz  succeeded  to  power  there  was  no 
very  marked  change  in  the  ownership  of  large  real- 
estate  holdings,  but  it  appears  that  shortly  after 
his  accession  a  number  of  the  revolutionary  leaders 
under  him  became  owners  of  extensive  tracts  of 
land,  and  the  acquisition  of  some  of  these  from  the 
public  domain  was  probably  facilitated  by  the 
government.  However,  these  changes  in  owner- 
ship, like  others  that  had  been  made  as  the  result 
of  various  triumphant  revolutions,  did  not  work 
any  improvement  in  agrarian  conditions  for  the 
peon  masses,  because  the  new  owners  still  repre- 
sented the  governing  Latin  element  and  held  the 
land  in  large  tracts. 

During  the  three  hundred  years  of  Spanish  con- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          139 

trol  and  for  some  time  after  its  close,  the  industrial 
interests  of  the  nation  were  almost  entirely  agri- 
cultural, pastoral,  and  mining.  Intelligent  and 
persistent  effort  to  develop  railroad  construction, 
manufacturing,  and  other  new  business  enterprises 
appears  to  have  been  first  begun  under  the  patriot, 
Juarez,  continued  under  his  successor,  Tejada,  and 
to  have  been  most  successful  under  Diaz,  because 
of  the  long  period  of  law  and  order  which  his  stern 
methods  maintained.  Previous  to  the  attraction 
of  foreign  capital  to  Mexico  her  original  industries 
had  been  conducted  in  the  primitive  and  slip-shod 
manner  characteristic,  even  at  the  present  time, 
of  most  Latin-Mexicans.  As  a  result  there  was 
little  or  no  attempt  at  intensive  cultivation  of  the 
lands,  assisted  by  comprehensive  modern  methods 
of  irrigation,  which  so  large  a  part  of  the  lands 
require.  The  same  condition  existed  in  the 
pastoral  industry,  which  was  little  assisted  by  any 
intelligent  effort  to  increase  the  value  of  its  product 
by  improvement  of  breeds  and  supplementing  the 
food  supply  of  the  natural  ranges  by  the  production 
of  forage  crops. 

Shortly  after  foreign  capital  became  interested 
in  Mexico  under  Diaz,  it  was  only  natural  that  the 
attention  of  investors  should  have  been  attracted 
to  the  opportunities  for  making  money  by  acquir- 
ing lands  and  applying  modern  methods  to  their 
management.  It  became  evident  to  foreign  in- 


140  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

vestors  that  Mexico  offered  unusual  opportunities 
for  profit  in  the  production  of  coffee,  of  cattle  by 
improving  the  grades  and  producing  forage  crops 
for  feed  and,  later,  by  the  production  of  rubber 
which  had  become,  by  the  invention  of  the  auto 
vehicle,  of  such  great  importance  in  the  economic 
life  of  the  world. 

It  was  also  discovered  that  large  tracts  of  arid 
land  could  be  made  wonderfully  productive  by 
irrigation  in  a  comprehensive  way  involving  the 
investment  of  large  sums  of  money.  Within  the 
last  thirty  years  considerable  sums  have  been 
invested  in  land  in  the  tropic  regions  which  was 
unproductive  jungle  until  put  by  foreign  pur- 
chasers to  profitable  use  in  the  production  of  coffee 
and  rubber.  Foreigners  have  also  invested  in 
large  areas  of  ranch  lands  which  have  in  every 
instance  been  purchased,  most  often  from  private 
owners,  but,  in  rare  instances,  from  the  govern- 
ment at  prices  fixed  by  law.  These  properties, 
by  the  application  of  modern  methods  of  manage- 
ment, were  made  much  more  valuable  than  they 
would  ever  have  been  in  the  possession  of  their 
original  Latin-Mexican  owners. 

There  have  been  also  established  by  Amer- 
icans a  number  of  agricultural  colonies  where  the 
lands  were  divided  into  small  holdings  which  were 
occupied  by  American  families  and  were  cultivated 
under  the  methods,  and  with  the  improved  ma- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          141 

chinery,  used  in  the  United  States.  This  latter 
development  should  have  been  of  peculiar  eco- 
nomic value  to  Mexico,  for,  in  addition  to  produc- 
ing a  large  amount  of  permanent  taxable  values 
for  the  country  and  giving  employment  to  many 
of  the  common  labourers  at  wages  in  excess  of  any- 
thing they  had  ever  received  from  native  land- 
owners, they  furnished  a  constant  example  to  the 
people  of  modern  methods  of  land  cultivation 
which  in  time  should,  and  doubtless  would,  have 
benefited  that  larger  part  of  the  population  en- 
gaged in  agriculture. 

A  most  important  development  of  foreign  land- 
ownership  has  been  brought  about  in  the  last 
twenty  years  by  the  investment  of  foreign  capital, 
principally  from  the  United  States,  in  great  rec- 
lamation projects.  Comprehensive  and  costly 
systems  of  irrigation  have  made  arid  lands,  pre- 
viously of  no  economic  value,  very  productive.  An 
example  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of 
Torreon,  where  English  and  American  capital 
utilized  the  waters  of  a  river  in  irrigating  many 
thousands  of  acres  of  land  formerly  arid  that  for 
some  years  past  have  produced  large  and  valuable 
crops  of  cotton.  I  have  had  some  opportunity  of 
observing  an  irrigation  enterprise  carried  out  dur- 
ing the  past  fifteen  years  by  American  capital. 
Here  by  utilizing  the  waters  of  a  river,  nearly  a 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  arid  land,  which  pre- 


142  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA\ 

viously  had  never  produced  a  dollar,  has  been  made 
to  yield  great  crops  of  cotton  and  forage.  This 
one  enterprise  alone  has  added  millions  in  value 
to  the  permanent  taxable  property  of  Mexico  and 
it  is  to-day  paying  taxes  to  the  extent  of  more  than 
a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  annually  to 
the  territorial  government  in  which  the  land  is 
situated.  While  the  taxes  are  high,  the  owners 
of  this  particular  investment  are  somewhat  con- 
soled by  the  fact  that  the  territorial  government, 
in  marked  exception  to  the  general  rule,  has  at  its 
head  an  honest  and  efficient  executive  who  sees 
to  it  that  these  revenues  are  used  in  maintaining 
order,  constructing  highways,  maintaining  public 
schools,  and  for  other  public  improvements. 

Since  early  in  the  Diaz  regime  and  during  its 
continuance,  Mexico  had  a  system  of  land  laws 
which  provided,  as  do  similar  laws  in  our  country, 
for  the  sale  of  public  land  at  prices  and  upon  terms 
named  therein.  After  these  laws  were  enacted 
and  until  they  were  set  aside  by  the  Carranza 
government,  it  was  never  possible  for  Diaz,  or  any 
one  else,  to  make  a  grant  or  gift  of  any  public  lands 
to  any  citizen  or  foreigner.  A  somewhat  careful 
investigation  has  failed  to  discover  a  single  instance 
in  which  land  in  Mexico  is  held  by  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  by  virtue  of  any  public  grant  or  con- 
cession in  the  nature  of  a  gift.  As  in  the  case  of 
mining  and  oil  properties,  what  lands  have  been 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  143 

acquired  in  that  country  by  our  citizens  have  been 
bought  at  a  price  which  represented  the  full  value 
of  the  land  to  the  owners;  and  if,  under  the  man- 
agement of  the  foreign  owner,  the  lands  became 
worth  more  than  was  paid  for  them,  as  they  un- 
doubtedly did  in  most  cases,  this  increased  value 
was  attributable  entirely  to  the  energy  and  in- 
telligence of  the  foreign  owner. 

This  success  of  the  foreign  owner,  while  produc- 
ing some  profit  to  him,  has  necessarily  been  of 
great  economic  value  to  the  people  and  nation,  be- 
cause it  has  furnished  employment  for  labour  at 
rates  in  every  instance  greater  than  the  Latin- 
Mexican  landowner  paid;  it  has  increased  by 
millions  the  taxable  property  of  the  country;  and 
it  has  afforded  an  object  lesson  in  improved  meth- 
ods of  management  and  cultivation  which  should 
have  been  of  great  value  to  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try. Yet,  the  American  investor,  who  has  thus 
added  to  the  prosperity  of  Mexico,  is  denounced 
by  the  element  now  in  power  as  a  robber  of  the 
people.  We  shall  see  in  another  chapter  how  these 
foreigners  have  been  deprived  of  their  properties, 
their  homes  wrecked  and  ruined,  and  many  of 
them,  with  their  families,  murdered.  In  nothing 
more  than  in  the  treatment,  by  the  people  now  in 
power,  of  the  foreigner  who  has  acquired  landed 
interests  in  Mexico,  as  contrasted  with  the  treat- 
ment of  the  foreigner  who  has  acquired  land  in  our 


144  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

own  country,  is  the  difference  between  the  policies 
which  direct  the  government  of  the  two  countries 
shown. , 

The  largest  privately  owned  tract  of  land  in  the 
United  States  is  the  great  Maxwell  Ranch,  in  New 
Mexico.  This  tract,  consisting  of  about  i  ,470,000 
acres,  has  for  years  belonged  to  Dutch  capitalists 
and  is  devoted  principally  to  stock  grazing.  But 
nobody  has  heard  any  accusations  that  these  for- 
eign investors  have  inflicted  a  grievous  wrong  upon 
our  people  by  becoming  owners  of  this  great  hold- 
ing. Probably  every  citizen  of  New  Mexico  would 
resent  indignantly  any  suggestion  that  he  desired 
to  see  his  state,  or  its  citizens,  become  the  pos- 
sessors of  this  land  by  confiscation.  The  indus- 
trious Scandinavian  peoples,  who  settled  the  great 
Northwest,  and  made  their  homes  upon  land 
acquired  for  a  very  small  part  of  its  actual  value 
from  the  Government,  and  who  are  to-day  the 
most  responsible  factors  in  the  prosperity  of  states 
like  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin,  rendered  the  same 
service  to  this  country  that  the  industrious  Amer- 
icans who  settled  in  a  number  of  agricultural 
colonies  and  made  their  homes  and  developed  lands 
there  rendered  to  Mexico. 

I  have  in  mind  an  Italian  colony  established 
some  years  ago  upon  cheap  land  in  a  sparsely  set- 
tled section  of  my  native  state,  Arkansas.  These 
industrious  Italians,  on  land  that  before  had  pro- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  145 

duced  nothing  of  value,  have  established  beautiful 
farms  and  vineyards,  have  built  an  attractive 
little  town  where  the  fine  church  and  school  build- 
ings are  the  pride  of  the  community,  and  have 
turned  a  section  of  country  which  was  almost  un- 
productive into  a  garden  spot,  the  site  of  many 
happy  homes  of  an  industrious  people.  So  proud 
is  the  state  of  what  these  people  have  done  that 
their  achievements  are  described  and  illustrated 
in  books  and  pamphlets  advertising  the  resources 
of  the  state. 

The  only  reference  to  similar  enterprises  which 
have  been  established  by  Americans  in  Mexico 
that  will  be  found  in  the  propagandist  literature 
issued  by  the  Carranza  party  takes  the  form  of 
denunciation  of  the  foreigners  who  have  estab- 
lished these  little  centres  of  industry  and  produc- 
tion as  robbers  of  the  Mexican  people.  The  fact 
is  that  the  Latin-Mexican  element — which  at  all 
times  has  been  in  control  of  the  government  and 
which,  until  foreigners  became  interested  and 
developed  valuable  properties  there  under  the 
encouragement  of  the  Diaz  regime  had  busied 
themselves  in  using  a  hundred  revolutionary 
movements  to  confiscate  the  property  of  each 
other — has  found  that  to-day  the  properties  most 
valuable  and  which,  therefore,  appeal  most  to  its 
lawless  greed,  are  those  built  up  by  the  intelligence, 
enterprise  and  industry  of  foreigners.  This  ele- 


146  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA ' 

ment  is  now  industriously  engaged  in  confiscating 
these  properties,  and  is  endeavouring  to  justify 
and  excuse  its  acts  by  accusing  the  people  who 
have  built  them  up  of  being  robbers  of  their  coun- 
try. 

In  the  United  States  we  welcome  the  invest- 
ment of  the  money,  the  intelligence,  and  the  in- 
dustry of  foreigners,  and  recognize  them  as  assets 
added  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  Because 
we  have  pursued  that  policy  we  stand  to-day  with- 
out a  peer  in  national  prosperity,  wealth,  and  credit. 
The  powers  now  in  control  in  Mexico,  in  gratify- 
ing their  greedy  desire  for  property  created  by 
the  foreigner,  have  so  destroyed  the  prosperity 
of  their  country  that  thousands  of  their  people 
within  the  past  five  years  have  died  of  starvation, 
other  thousands  are  on  the  brink  of  destruction, 
and  the  credit  of  their  country  is  so  low  that  they 
are  unable  to  raise  a  dollar  by  public  loans.  Surely 
such  a  comparison  of  results  should  give  pause  to 
those  who  may  feel  inclined  to  encourage  or  to 
tolerate  such  a  spirit  as  is  now  dominant  in  the 
management  of  governmental  affairs  in  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  IV 

How  tie  Canancistas  Have  Treated 
the  Interests  of  Foreign  Investors 

HAVING  learned  in  the  preceding  chapter 
that  the  Carrancistas  denounce  foreign 
investments  as  a  great  wrong  against 
their  country,  and  having  examined  in  detail  the 
nature  and  extent  of  these  alleged  injuries,  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  ascertain  just  how  these  self- 
constituted  guardians  of  the  National  honour  have 
avenged  the  offenses,  and  what  steps  they  have 
taken  to  put  the  Mexican  people  in  possession  of 
their  own.  It  would  be  logical,  if  anything  re- 
lating to  such  an  extraordinary  point  of  view  may 
be  so  characterized,  for  the  Carrancistas  to  begin 
their  task  of  redressing  grievances  by  first  calling 
to  account  the  alien  investments  most  vitally 
important  to  the  economic  welfare  of  Mexico;  and 
that  is  precisely  what  they  did. 

Cheap  fuel  is  a  prime  requisite  of  industry. 
Until  a  score  of  years  ago  Mexico  was  almost 
entirely  dependent  upon  coal  imported  from  the 
United  States  at  heavy  expense  for  fuel  for  railroad 
and  industrial  needs.  Then  coal  of  good  quality 


148  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA. 

was  discovered  in  the  State  of  Coahuila.  Amer- 
ican, French,  English,  and  Mexican  capitalists 
combined  to  form  the  Compania  Carbonifera 
Agujita  e  Annexas  which  developed  large  mines  at 
Agujita  and  Lampacitos  which  furnished  the  rail- 
roads with  an  abundant  supply  of  much  cheaper 
fuel  than  they  had  ever  had  before,  and  also  ren- 
dered possible  the  building  of  large  smelters,  the 
development  of  iron  mines,  the  establishment  of 
iron  and  steel  production,  and  other  important 
industries. 

These  alien  coal  barons  were  not  long  permitted 
to  continue  their  crime  of  enabling  many  thou- 
sands of  Mexicans  to  earn  a  far  better  livelihood 
than  they  had  ever  enjoyed  before  cheap  fuel  be- 
came known.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Carranza 
after  his  revolution  was  anounced  in  the  "Plan 
of  Guadalupe,"  on  March  26,  1913,  was  to  send 
his  brother,  Jesus  Carranza,  on  May  26  to  call 
these  coal  producers  to  account.  Perhaps  the 
story  of  what  followed  cannot  be  better  told  than 
in  the  words  of  an  American  who  was  interested 
in  the  works.  Here  is  what  he  wrote: 

"Shortly  after  the  assassination  of  President 
Madero,  the  mines  at  Lampacitos  were  visited  by 
General  Jesus  Carranza,  a  brother  of  the  present 
First  Chief  of  Mexico,  who,  in  command  of  a  revolu- 
tionary body,  demanded  of  the  manager  of  the 
mines  that  he  be  paid  100,000  pesos,  in  default  of 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          149 

which,  he  threatened  to  burn  and  destroy  the  plant. 
As  the  manager  had  not  such  a  sum  in  his  posses- 
sion, and  telegraphic  communication  with  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Company  in  the  City  of  Mexico  was 
interrupted,  he  was  unable  to  comply  with  the  de- 
mand and  General  Carranza  thereupon  proceeded 
to  destroy  the  plant,  and  in  prosecution  of  such 
intent,  dynamited  several  hundred  coke  ovens, 
burned  most  of  the  houses  and  buildings,  and  de- 
stroyed the  extensive  structures  of  the  company, 
such  as  the  tipple  and  washer. 

"After  completing  such  work  of  destruction, 
General  Jesus  Carranza  announced  that  he  in- 
tended to  march  immediately  to  Agujita,  the  other 
plant  of  the  company,  situated  some  fifty  miles 
from  Lampacitos  and  that  if,  by  the  time  he  arrived 
there,  the  money  previously  demanded  by  him  was 
not  paid,  he  would  destroy  the  plant  in  Agujita. 

"Upon  arriving  at  the  latter  named  place,  the 
corporation  representative  being  without  money 
and  being  unable  to  comply  with  the  demand  of 
general  Carranza,  the  latter  proceeded  to  destroy 
the  plant  at  Agujita  and  would  have  succeeded, 
as  in  the  case  of  Lampacitos  but  for  the  fact  that  his 
troops  were  frightened  away  before  the  destruc- 
tion was  completed  by  the  rumoured  approach  of 
Huerta's  forces.  *  *  * 

"General  Carranza  did  not  destroy  a  large  body 
of  coke  which  was  on  hand  at  the  time  of  the  dep- 
redations committed  by  him  and  his  forces  and  this 
has  been  regarded  by  the  shareholders  of  the  com- 
pany as  one  of  the  sources  from  which  it  would  be 
able  to  derive  large  sums  of  cash  to  be  immediately 
used  in  the  work  of  rehabilitating  the  mines. 


150  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

"  I  am  just  in  receipt  of  a  Declaration  of  For- 
feiture of  various  mining  properties  in  Coahuila, 
including  among  others  the  plant  at  Agujita  above 
described.  The  R.  Muzquiz,  whose  name  is  signed 
to  the  Declaration  of  Forfeiture,  I  am  informed,  is 
the  Chief  at  Coahuila  of  the  civil  partisans  of  First 
Chief  Carranza. 

"  It  is  believed  that  the  first  object  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Forfeiture  is  to  provide  means  whereby 
some  30,000  tons  of  coke  on  hand,  and  worth  at  the 
present  time  about  2,000,000  pesos  in  Carranza 
currency,  may  be  disposed  of." 

Observe  the  thoroughness  with  which  this  par- 
ticular alien  wrong  was  set  right.  First,  Carranza, 
through  his  brother,  imposes  a  penalty  of  100,000 
pesos  upon  the  coal  company  for  producing  the 
fuel  which  made  it  possible  for  many  thousands 
of  Mexicans  to  earn  a  livelihood.  Failing  to  col- 
lect promptly  enough,  he  wrecks  the  property  as 
a  warning  to  other  aliens  to  be  quick  with  the  cash. 
The  fact  that  several  thousand  Mexicans  employed 
in  and  around  the  mines  were  left  to  starve  was  a 
minor  incident.  Finally,  he  declares  the  title  to 
these  important  mining  enterprises  forfeited  be- 
cause the  owners  had  ceased  to  operate  them  after 
Jesus  Carranza  did  such  a  good  job  of  wrecking 
them. 

What  happened  to  these  coal  mines  is  typical 
of  the  fate  of  most  industrial  enterprises  owned  by 
Americans  in  Mexico.  To  make  the  story  com- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  151 

plete  the  fact  may  be  added  that  after  the  mines 
had  stood  idle  for  some  time,  because  the  owners, 
having  no  assurance  of  protection,  dared  not  re- 
store them  to  operation,  the  properties  were 
purchased  for  a  very  small  part  of  their  value  by  a 
corporation  representing  a  group  of  German 
capitalists  whose  headquarters  are  in  Frankfort- 
on-t he-Main.  The  new  owners,  under  the  pro- 
tection which  everything  German  receives  from 
Carranza,  have  reopened  these  mines,  and  are  now 
producing  coal  and  coke  with  which  to  operate 
smelters  which  they  have  also  acquired  in  Mexico, 
and  which  are  conducted  in  competition  with 
American-owned  smelters  whose  operations  have 
been  hampered  in  every  way,  and  some  of  which 
have  been  closed  altogether  by  the  exactions  of  the 
government. 

The  foregoing  is  only  one  of  numerous  instances 
in  which  Germans  have  been  able  to  secure,  at  a 
small  fraction  of  their  true  worth,  properties  belong- 
ing to  citizens  of  our  own  country  and  of  our  allies, 
France  and  Great  Britain,  the  value  of  which  had 
been  largely  destroyed  by  the  exactions  of  the  gov- 
ernment now  in  power  in  Mexico. 

The  most  humiliating  result  of  the  Germanophile 
character  of  the  Carranza  element  has  been  that  it 
has  forced  American  citizens  to  seek  for  their 
properties  the  protection  of  the  German  flag.  An 
incident  of  this  sort  some  time  ago  came  to  my 


152  i         MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

attention  because  it  happened  to  concern  residents 
of  Los  Angeles  with  whom  I  am  very  well  ac- 
quainted. These  men  were  developing  a  large 
rubber  and  coffee  plantation  in  Mexico.  They 
purchased  the  land,  which  was  unimproved  jungle, 
from  private  owners  at  a  good  price.  Had  the 
plans  of  the  investors  been  carried  out,  a  great 
property  worth  millions  of  dollars,  subject  to 
taxation,  would  have  been  created.  They  hap- 
pened to  have  as  a  manager  a  German  whose 
nationality  was  attested  by  a  distinctly  Teutonic 
name.  This  man  had  shown  himself  to  be  trust- 
worthy, and,  when  it  became  evident  that  the 
powers  in  Mexico  had  great  respect  for  German 
rights  and  none  whatever  for  those  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  the  owners  of  this  great  property 
placed  it  in  the  name  of  their  German  manager. 
Some  time  ago  they  showed  me  a  letter  from  this 
manager,  in  which,  after  telling  that  all  the  goods 
in  the  store  maintained  on  the  property  had  been 
taken  by  a  company  of  soldiers  from  military  head- 
quarters near  by,  he  continued: 

"  I  am  glad  to  inform  you  that  we  were  able  to 
recover  most  of  the  goods  taken  away  from  us  by 
the  government  to  the  capital.  The  governor, 
hearing  they  belonged  to  us,  gave  order  for  their 
release  and  what  was  left  was  immediately  returned 
to  us.  When  we  think  of  the  fact  that  other  people 
have  lost  their  entire  stock  and  shipments,  we  may 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          153 

consider  ourselves  belonging  to  the  more  favour- 
ably and  considerately  treated  people." 

The  other  people  referred  to  in  the  quotation 
were  foreigners,  not  Germans,  who  had  not  been 
provident  enough  to  place  their  properties  under  the 
aegis  of  a  German  name.  The  existence  in  a 
neighbouring  country  of  a  condition  which  makes 
it  necessary  for  American  citizens  to  seek  pro- 
tection from  looting  and  destruction  of  their 
property  by  placing  it  under  the  protection  of  the 
bloody  flag  of  Germany  is  something  which  no  one 
who  endeavours  to  confine  himself  to  moderate 
language  can  comment  upon. 

Some  years  ago,  the  Richardson  Construction 
Company,  including  some  of  the  wealthiest  men 
in  New  York  City,  was  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  impounding  the  waters  of  the  Yaqui  River  to 
irrigate  a  body  of  800,000  acres  of  arid  land  in  the 
Yaqui  Valley.  The  company  purchased  from 
private  owners  about  400,000  acres  in  the  state 
of  Sonora.  The  remainder  of  the  land  to  be  ir- 
rigated belonged  to  numerous  private  holders, 
mostly  Mexican  citizens.  A  contract  was  made 
between  the  company  and  the  national  govern- 
ment, by  the  terms  of  which  the  company,  in  con- 
sideration of  certain  payments  made  and  certain 
obligations  assumed,  was  authorized  to  use  the 
waters  of  the  river  up  to  a  designated  maximum 


154          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

which  was  estimated  as  being  the  amount  required 
to  irrigate  all  the  land  under  the  project.  The 
rates  at  which  this  water  was  to  be  furnished  by  the 
company  to  the  owners  of  land  were  named  in  the 
agreement,  and  were  very  low — much  lower,  in 
fact,  than  the  rates  for  irrigation  which  prevail  in 
Southern  California.  The  land,  while  unproduc- 
tive in  its  arid  state,  is,  when  irrigated,  among 
the  most  fertile  in  the  world.  A  date  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work  was  named,  with  the  provision 
that  the  term  should  be  extended  to  cover  any 
delays  in  the  work  for  which  the  company  was  not 
responsible.  The  company  by  the  terms  of  its 
contract  gave  security  for  the  carrying  out  of  its 
agreement,  the  estimated  total  cost  of  which  was 
about  $  1 4,000,000.  The  land,  under  irrigation, 
would  have  been  worth  $100  per  acre  or  more. 
The  project  fully  carried  out  would  have  created 
an  economic  asset,  subject  to  taxation,  of  a  value, 
of  nearly  or  quite  $100,000,000.  The  company 
in  1909,  entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  state 
government  of  Sonora,  by  the  terms  of  which  the 
state,  appreciating  that  the  land  was  of  little  value 
until  canals  could  be  built,  agreed  not  to  assess  its 
holdings  higher  than  4  pesos  a  hectare  for  the  term 
of  ten  years. 

From  1912  until  the  present  time,  conditions  in 
the  Yaqui  Valley  have  been  so  uncertain  and  the 
raids  of  the  Yaqui  Indians  have  been  so  unre- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  155 

strained  that  the  company  has  been  unable  to 
begin  the  construction  of  its  large  dams.  Pending 
this  work,  however,  the  company  has  constructed 
a  wing  dam  and  has  built  about  400  miles  of  canals 
which  provide  irrigation  for  30,000  acres  of  land, 
about  one  half  of  which  belongs  to  Mexican  citi- 
zens. The  company  also  established  an  experi- 
mental station  for  testing  the  value  of  various 
agricultural  products,  and  published,  in  Spanish 
and  English,  bulletins  giving  the  result  of  these 
experiments,  which  were  distributed  gratuitously 
to  all  applicants.  In  other  words,  it  established 
a  fully  equipped  agricultural  experiment  station, 
giving  to  the  Mexican  people  a  service  which  their 
own  government  had  never  adequately  performed. 
In  1915  the  Carranza  government  installed 
General  Calles  as  military  governor  of  the  state 
of  Sonora.  Among  the  first  acts  of  this  governor 
was  the  issuance  of  a  decree,  No.  1 7,  dated  Decem- 
ber 23,  1915,  the  apparent  object  of  which  was  the 
confiscation  of  property  by  levying  high  taxes 
impossible  of  payment,  especially  so  that  the  land 
could  not  be  used  because  of  Yaqui  Indian  depre- 
dations and  generally  abnormal  conditions.  When 
the  company  objected  to  this  taxation  and  referred 
to  its  contract  with  the  state  government  of 
Sonora,  dated  1909,  it  was  told  that  Governor 
Calles  had  cancelled  this  contract  and  that  it  must 
pay  the  taxes  provided  in  the  decree. 


156  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Under  the  political  organization  of  Mexico,  the 
territory  of  the  state  is  divided  into  a  number  of 
smaller  areas  called  municipalities;  these  munici- 
palities have  no  relation  to  the  density  of  popula- 
tion in  the  country,  but  are  extensive  areas  of  coun- 
try land,  frequently  including  500  square  miles  or 
more.  In  addition  to  the  assessment  made  by  the 
state  government  for  purposes  of  taxation,  the 
municipality  assessed  the  land  an  amount  varying 
from  50  per  cent,  to  75  per  cent,  of  the  state  as- 
sessment. Under  the  national  law  of  taxation  as 
established  by  Carranza's  government,  national 
revenue  stamps  to  the  amount  of  60  per  cent,  of 
the  amount  of  the  state  and  municipal  taxes  must 
be  placed  upon  the  receipts  for  these  taxes  before 
they  are  valid.  Thus  the  projectors  of  this  great 
enterprise  were  met  with  a  demand  to  pay  a  state 
tax  upon  their  arid  lands  assessed  at  the  value 
of  productive  lands;  to  pay  a  municipal  tax  rang- 
ing from  50  per  cent,  to  75  per  cent,  of  the  state's 
valuation  and,  in  addition,  to  pay  a  national  tax 
which  was  60  per  cent,  of  the  sum  of  the  state  and 
municipal  taxes. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection 
that  during  the  Diaz  period  the  maximum  of  the 
national  stamp  tax  required  to  be  paid  upon  state 
taxes  was  only  20  per  cent,  while  the  Carranza 
government  has  tripled  the  national  tax.  This 
assessment  was  resisted  by  the  company.  The 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          157 

government  of  Sonora  then  proceeded  to  sell  some 
of  the  company's  improved  property,  including 
company  buildings,  to  satisfy  the  state  tax,  and 
demanded  that  the  company  should  pay  on  ac- 
count of  this  tax  one  half  of  all  its  receipts  from 
irrigation,  and  proceeded  to  enforce  the  demand 
by  taking  money  from  the  safe  in  the  company's 
office  by  force.  Later  on,  these  assessments  were 
modified.  But  recently  the  company  has  been 
faced  by  an  exaction  in  another  form  which  shows 
the  utter  lack  of  conscience,  as  well  as  of  all  care 
for  the  economic  future  of  their  country,  which 
characterizes  the  Carranza  officials. 

The  last  exaction  came  in  the  form  of  a  federal 
decree  demanding  that  the  company  pay  an 
annual  tax  on  the  maximum  amount  of  water  that 
its  contract  with  the  federal  government  gives 
it  the  right  to  divert  from  the  Yaqui  River  for  the 
irrigation  of  the  entire  valley,  approximately 
800,000  acres  of  land,  payment  of  this  annual  tax 
to  begin  at  once,  although  the  contract  provides  a 
period  of  approximately  twenty  years  in  which  to 
complete  the  irrigation  system  and  subdivide  the 
lands  that  will  then,  and  not  until  then,  be  using 
the  maximum  amount  of  water  provided.  Upon 
the  representative  of  the  company  explaining  to  the 
Secretary  of  Fomento  that  the  company  could  not 
exist  under  such  a  burden,  especially  as  it  was  being 
prevented  from  completing  its  work  by  the  failure 


158  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

of  the  government  to  protect  its  workmen  from 
raids  by  the  Yaqui  Indians  and  that  it  stood 
ready  at  all  times  to  carry  out  its  agreement  as 
soon  as  conditions  permitted,  it  was  met  with  a 
threat  that  its  right  to  the  waters  of  the  Yaqui 
River  would  be  forfeited  and  that  innumerable 
smaller  rights  to  these  waters  would  be  issued  so 
that  each  man  or  small  group  of  men  could  provide 
their  own  system  of  irrigation. 

Of  course,  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to 
irrigate  adequately  and  economically  so  great  an 
area  of  land  except  by  one  system  under  single 
management,  requiring  many  millions  of  dollars. 
With  this  investment  made,  as  originally  planned, 
water  would  be  delivered  for  irrigating  this  wonder- 
fully rich  territory  at  a  very  low  cost.  The  Mexi- 
can Government  has  no  money  to  carry  out  the 
plan  and  no  prospects  of  ever  securing  any.  Yet, 
because  the  company  will  not  submit  to  a  robbery 
which  would  bankrupt  it  in  a  short  time,  this  offi- 
cial of  the  national  government  proposes  to  de- 
stroy an  enterprise  that  would  produce  hundreds 
of  millions  of  value  where  nothing  exists  to-day. 
It  would  also  furnish  employment  to  thousands  of 
Mexican  labourers  and  would  result  in  building 
up  a  great  property  subject  to  taxation. 

This  is  one  example  of  the  way  many  enter- 
prises of  like  character  are  being  destroyed  by  the 
Carranza  government  as  a  result  of  a  short-sighted 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  159 

and  unpatriotic  greed  which  prefers  a  few  dollars 
of  loot  in  the  present  to  a  great  national  benefit  in 
the  future. 

In  all  the  stories  that  have  been  written  of  the 
robbery  and  ofttimes  murder  by  revolutionists 
during  the  last  seven  years,  and  especially  by  the 
revolutionists  headed  by  Carranza,  nothing  is 
more  pitiful  than  the  destruction  of  a  number  of 
agricultural  colonies  established  by  Americans. 
These  colonists  represented  foreign  invasion  of  the 
most  beneficent  character.  The  members  of  these 
communities  were  industrious,  frugal  Americans 
whose  efforts  were  devoted  to  making  land,  which 
before  had  been  unproductive,  yield  the  things 
most  needed  in  their  adopted  country. 

The  first  result  of  the  success  of  these  colonies 
consisted  in  increasing  the  national  wealth  to  a 
large  extent  by  producing  property  subject  to 
taxation.  They  also  gave  employment  to  great 
numbers  of  the  agricultural  labouring  class  of 
Mexicans  at  wages  higher  than  they  had  ever 
before  known.  In  addition,  they  furnished  ex- 
amples to  the  Mexican  people  of  improved  methods 
of  cultivation  which  should  have  made  them  of 
great  economic  value  to  the  country. 

There  were  a  number  of  these  American  colonies, 
at  Garcia,  Pacheco,  Juarez,  Dublan,  Diaz,  and 
other  places  in  the  states  of  Sonora  and  Chi- 
huahua. An  incomplete  list  of  these  colonists, 


160  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

prepared  by  U.  S.  Senator  Fall  of  New  Mexico  for 
the  use  of  our  Secretary  of  State,  enumerates  284 
men,  301  women,  and  1,266  children,  1,100  of 
whom  had  been  born  in  Mexico.  All  the  persons 
on  this  list  not  born  in  Mexico  had  lived  there 
from  ten  to  twenty-eight  years. 

A  typical  example  of  what  these  colonists  were 
subjected  to  is  shown  by  the  following  statement 
of  one  of  them : 


"There  must  have  been  125  houses  destroyed  at 
Colonia  Diaz,  which  I  believe  suffered  more  than 
the  others.  We  had  just  three  hours  to  get  out, 
leaving  all  the  accumulations  of  years  of  hard  work. 
Oh,  it  was  hard!  I  don't  want  to  think  of  it.  We 
left  June  2,  1913,  as  the  bandits  destroyed  my  two- 
story  granary  and  threshing  machine.  I  laid  out 
that  place  twenty-eight  years  ago  and,  so  to  speak, 
grew  up  with  it,  so  you  can  imagine  how  I  feel  in 
the  matter.  Several  times  the  Mexicans  thrashed 
through  the  colony,  playing  havoc  with  it  each  time 
until  now  it  is  in  absolute  ruin.  Beautiful  homes 
all  destroyed,  farm  equipment  burned.  Every- 
thing those  wretches  could  lay  their  hands  on  they 
burned  or  wrecked.  I  had  300  head  of  Polled 
Angus  cattle;  I  saved  only  29  head.  Of  80  horses 
we  had  on  the  ranch,  only  8  escaped  the  hands  of 
the  bandits.  In  that  section,  there  were  ten  stal- 
lions worth  $50,000.  We  did  manage  to  save  3 
or  4  from  the  bandits.  I  had  6,000  bushels  of 
wheat  on  my  ranch  a  year  ago.  It  went  quickly 
when  the  revolutionists  showed  up.  In  the  colony 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          161 

altogether  there  must  have  been  40,000  bushels, 
all  of  which  went.  There  were  about  4,000  people 
in  the  colonies.  There  are  now  only  a  few  families 
left  and  they  are  in  danger." 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  outrages  recited  by  this 
American  citizen,  who  had  devoted  twenty-eight 
years  of  his  life  to  building  up  a  valuable  property, 
occurred  after  the  beginning  of  the  Carranza 
revolution,  March  26,  1913.  While  the  outrages 
were  not  all  perpetrated  by  followers  of  Carranza, 
most  of  them  were,  because  his  followers  were  more 
numerous  than  those  of  all  other  revolutionist 
leaders  combined. 

The  American  farmers  who  composed  these 
little  centres  of  agricultural  industry  and  pros- 
perity were  in  no  sense  exploiters  of  Mexico  under 
concessions  granted  by  the  Diaz  government,  for 
they  had  purchased  the  land  upon  which  they 
built  their  homes  and  depended  upon  their  own 
industry,  economy,  and  enterprise  for  the  pros- 
perity which  they  had  achieved,  and  not  upon  any 
advantage  secured  by  concessions,  or  privileges 
of  any  kind  granted  by  the  Mexican  Government. 

The  destructive  effects  of  the  Carranza  govern- 
ment on  the  financial  life  of  the  country  are  shown 
in  the  treatment  of  the  greatest  two  banking 
institutions  in  its  capital  city;  the  Banco  Nacional, 
representing  French  capital,  and  the  Bank  of  Lon- 


162  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

don  and  Mexico,  representing  French  and  English 
capital.  The  following  description  of  the  way  the 
Carranza  government  dealt  with  the  Banco  Na- 
cional  was  secured  from  a  man  who  was  at  one 
time  connected  with  that  institution.  He  says: 

"Since  the  Carranza  government  came  into 
power  the  bank  has  been  obliged  to  accept  at  par, 
in  payment  of  the  loans  which  it  made  formerly, 
either  in  specie  or  notes  of  the  Banco  Nacional,  the 
paper  money  issued  by  the  Carranza  government 
which  had  depreciated  in  value  and  was  worth  only 
five  or  six  cents  instead  of  fifty  cents  (its  face 
value). 

"  For  having  tried  timidly  to  prevent  the  afflux 
of  this  depreciated  paper  in  its  vaults,  the  directors 
of  the  bank  were  imprisoned  and  the  employees 
were  molested. 

"The  paper  of  the  other  governments  (Villa  and 
Zapata),  which  the  bank  was  obliged  to  receive  in 
payment,  was  declared  to  be  invalid  and  it  had  to 
be  remitted  to  the  authorities  and  destroyed. 

"It  is  thus  that  more  than  30,000,000  pesos  in 
current  account  alone,  representing  active  funds 
of  the  bank  amounting  to  %  15,000,000  were  reim- 
bursed by  paper  which,  on  an  average,  was  not 
worth  more  than  three  or  four  million  dollars. 

"On  September  15,  1916,  Carranza  issued  a 
decree  annulling  the  concessions  of  circulation  of 
the  banks,  fixing  a  period  of  sixty  days  in  which  to 
increase  their  specie  holdings  up  to  an  amount 
equal  to  the  amount  of  their  circulation,  estab- 
lishing Sequestration  Councils  composed  of  three 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  163 

members  nominated  by  the  government  and  for- 
bidding the  banks  to  transact  any  business  without 
the  sanction  of  the  Secretary  of  Hacienda. 

"On  September  26,  the  Council  of  Sequestration 
named  by  the  government  went  to  the  Banco 
Nacional  to  take  possession.  As  the  Directors' 
Council  of  the  bank  protested  against  these  violent 
measures,  on  September  28,  the  manager  and  the 
assistant  manager  of  the  bank  were  arrested  at 
their  homes  by  order  of  the  military  authorities, 
while  an  armed  force  presented  itself  at  the  bank, 
making  all  employees  and  domestics  leave  and 
then  closing  the  doors. 

"The  bank  was  forced  to  grant  to  the  govern- 
ment a  first  loan  of  5,000,000  gold  pesos.  This 
forced  loan  was  followed  by  others  until  all  specie 
holdings  of  the  bank  were  successively  remitted 
to  the  government  and  the  bank  was  thus  despoiled 
of  thirty  to  thirty-five  million  pesos  in  gold  and 
silver  which  had  guaranteed  the  circulation  before 
the  Carranza  government  came  into  power.  Since 
then  and  until  the  present  time  the  bank,  besides 
having  been  thus  deprived  of  its  specie  holdings, 
was  forbidden  to  transact  any  financial  business, 
exchange  or  other;  so  that  it  is  obliged  to  main- 
tain a  staff  of  employees  and  to  meet  general  ex- 
penses which  are  very  high,  while  it  is  impossible 
for  it  to  earn  a  cent.  Practically,  the  Banco  Na- 
cional has  seen  its  credit  balance  reduced  to  almost 
nothing,  as  a  result  of  theobligation  to-accept paper 
money;  its  concession  which  was  granted  in  1 884  has 
been  annulled;  it  has  been  forbidden  totransactany 
financial  business,  even  the  most,  legitimate;  in 
principle,  its  management  is  in  the  hands  of  the 


164  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Council  of  Sequestration  although  in  fact,  thanks 
to  the  loans  which  have  been  granted,  the  old  ad- 
ministration has  been  tolerated;  almost  all  of  its 
branches  have  been  closed;  finally,  it  has  been 
obliged  to  loan  to  the  government  its  entire  specie 
holdings,  "gold"  and  silver/' 

The  experience  of  the  London  and  Mexico  Bank 
was  equally  disastrous.  On  July  3,  1917,  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  that  Bank  published  its 
annual  report  in  El  Universal,  the  leading  daily 
paper  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  in  which  it  said : 

"It  was  then  reported  that  of  the  amount  of 
more  than  nineteen  million  pesos  in  gold  and  silver 
in  bars  and  coin  which  has  been  in  the  bank's 
vaults,  there  had  been  slowly  taken  away  from 
January  18,  1917,  until  the  present  time,  the  sum 
of  more  than  seventeen  million  pesos;  there  re- 
maining in  the  vaults,  according  to  information 
received  by  the  Board  of  Directors,  only  about  two 
million  pesos.  In  the  report  it  was  stated  that  the 
Board  of  Receivers  (a  board  appointed  by  and 
representing  the  Carranza  government),  ordered 
that  the  cash  department  and  the  safes  should 
always  remain  open,  which  measure  obliged  the 
Board  of  Directors  to  put  a  corps  of  employees  on 
guard  in  this  department,  day  and  night,  to  avoid 
responsibility  for  abstraction  of  funds  from  the 
vaults  falling  on  those  not  responsible. 

"The  Board  stated  categorically  that  of  the 
$19,  6 1 1,141  in  specie  which  were  in  the  vaults  of 
the  bank,  hardly  $2,000,000  remain,  as  the  Board 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          165 

of  Receivers,  had  disposed  of  the  difference,  and 
that  the  said  Board  of  Receivers  has  sold  at  the 
lowest  prices  securities  considered  first  class  by 
the  bank. 

"That  on  February  15,  1917,  the  Department 
of  Finance  refused  to  recognize  the  bank's  Board 
of  Directors,  refusing  to  take  up  any  matter 
connected  with  the  institution  with  them  and 
ordered  that  the  Board  of  Receivers  liquidate 
the  bank. 

"Mention  was  made  of  a  communication  from 
the  Department  of  Finance  in  October  last  year, 
asking  for  delivery  to  the  mint  of  the  bars  of 
metal  which  the  bank  had  in  vault  and  a  message 
from  the  Sub-Secretary  of  Finance  was  annexed, 
sent  from  Queretaro  to  the  manager  of  the  bank, 
categorically  stating  that  the  money  coined  there- 
from would  be  returned  to  the  bank;  and  it 
was  reported  that,  notwithstanding  this  assur- 
ance given  by  the  Sub-Secretary  of  Finance,  com- 
pliance with  this  written  offer  has  never  been 
made. 

"Finally,  it  was  stated  that  of  820  silver  bars, 
taken  by  the  government,  worth  more  than  a  mil- 
lion pesos,  national  gold,  and  eighty  gold  bars 
worth.  1,840,1 19  pesos,  to  be  coined  by  the  mint, 
they  have  returned  to  the  bank,  in  the  breach  of 
the  offer  made  from  Queretero  by  the  Sub-Sec- 
retary of  Finance,  only  299,675  pesos  for  the  silver 
bars  and  200,000  pesos  for  the  gold  bars,  causing 
the  bank  a  deficit  of  2,697,387  pesos." 

The  foregoing  instances  of  the  robbery  of  for- 
eigners by  the  government  now  in  power  might 


1 66          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

be  multiplied  until  they  would  fill  all  the  pages  of 
this  book  without  exhausting  the  list.  They  are 
given  as  being  merely  illustrative  of  the  character 
of  the  Carrancistas.  The  list  of  what  they  have 
wrecked  and  ruined  might  be  extended  to  include 
mines,  smelters,  public-service  corporations,  rail- 
roads, and  in  fact  every  kind  of  financial  and  in- 
dustrial enterprise  which  contributes  to  the  well- 
being  of  a  country. 

The  spirit  of  looting  and  dishonesty  which  rules 
the  present  government  appears  to  have  been  very 
frankly  indicated  in  a  series  of  articles  published 
last  year  by  Luis  Cabrera,  at  one  time  Secretary 
of  Finance  in  the  Carranza  cabinet  and  one  of  the 
most  prominent  leaders  in  the  Carranza  revolu- 
tionary party.  It  appears  that  Mr.  Cabrera  had 
been  accused  by  some  of  his  enemies  of  profiting 
by  his  control  of  the  national  finances.  In  re- 
sponse to  this  accusation,  he  published  three 
articles  in  El  Universal,  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  in 
which,  while  admitting  that  large  amounts  of 
property  and  sums  of  money  had  come  into  pos- 
session of  the  military  officials  as  a  result  of  rob- 
bery and  confiscation,  he  denies  that  this  money 
had  found  its  way  into  the  national  or  state 
treasuries.  In  his  explanation  Secretary  Cabrera 
shows  how  this  was  done,  as  follows  (we  quote 
verbatim  from  El  Universal;  the  italics  are 
ours) : 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  167 

"  By  disposing  of  articles  other  than  money,  such 
as  furniture,  automobiles,  or  real  estate,  for  per- 
sonal use  or  for  profit. 

"During  the  constitutionalists'  revolution,  the 
case  has  been  repeated,  with  unfortunate  fre- 
quency, under  the  pretext  of  confiscating  'inter- 
vened' properties,  and  great  quantities  of  private 
property  have  been  seized  in  the  beginning  for  the 
nation,  but  the  confiscators  have  used  them  for  per- 
sonal profit  or  sold  them  for  money.  It  is  unneces- 
sary to  bring  proofs  of  this,  for  unfortunately, 
almost  all  of  the  confiscation  of  the  enemies'  proper- 
ties, with  honourable  exceptions,  have  been  made  with 
the  deliberate  intention  of  converting  the  goods  for 
private  use.  This  goes  from  the  mere  'loan'  of  a 
horse  or  saddle,  from  the  requisition  of  grain  and 
fodder  which  are  not  used  for  the  troops,  to  the  oc- 
cupation of  houses,  property,  and  ranches  which 
have  been  confiscated  and  were  cultivated  and  exploited 
directly  for  the  benefit  of  the  confiscator." 

Following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  important 
properties  belonging  to  foreigners  of  which  the 
Carranza  government  has  taken  possession  and  is 
using  without  compensation  to  the  owners : 

National  Railways  of  Mexico:  representing  Brit- 
ish, American  and  French  capital; 

Mexican  Railway,  Vera  Cruz-Mexico  City;  British 
capital; 

Wells- Fargo  Express  Co.;  American  capital; 

Vera  Cruz  to  the  Isthmus  Railway;  American  and 
British  capital; 


168  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Inter-Oceanic  Railway;  British  capital; 

Mexico  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.;  American 
capital; 

Street  Railway  of  Mexico  City;  Canadian  and 
American  capital; 

Railways  of  Yucatan;  British  capital; 

Mexican  Navigation  Co.;  American  capital;  Ships 
under  Mexican  flag; 

The  London  and  Mexico  Bank;  French  and  Brit- 
ish capital; 

The  Banco  Nacional;  French  capital. 


The  railways  have  been  almost  entirely  wrecked ; 
the  capital  of  the  banks  has  been  used  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Carranza  government  and  not  one 
cent  has  been  paid,  or  any  effort  made  to  pay  one 
cent,  to  the  owners  of  these  properties  although 
they  have,  for  years,  had  neither  use  of  the  prop- 
erties nor  income  therefrom. 

Thus,  we  see  that  Mexico  is  in  the  grasp  of  men 
who  have  sacrificed,  and  are  continuing  to  sacrifice, 
the  welfare  of  the  country  for  the  opportunity  to 
secure  by  looting  the  immediate  dollar.  It  is 
nothing  to  these  men  that  a  great  coal  company, 
producing  a  vital  necessity  of  the  industrial  and 
economic  life  of  Mexico  should  have  been  wrecked 
because  they  were  disappointed  in  not  having 
been  able  to  rob  the  management  of  that  company 
of  100,000  pesos.  It  is  nothing  to  them  that  a 
great  irrigation  enterprise,  that  would  have  created 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  169 

$  1 00,000,000  of  value,  given  employment  to  thou- 
sands of  people,  produced  a  great  taxable  asset  to 
the  country,  and  yielded  immense  annual  produc- 
tion of  foodstuffs  and  cotton  worth  millions  of  dol- 
lars, should  be  wrecked  and  ruined.  All  this  they 
are  willing  to  sacrifice  in  order  to  secure  a  few  dol- 
lars of  present  loot.  It  is  nothing  that  the  great 
financial  institutions  of  the  country,  which  fur- 
nished the  capital  that  is  the  life  blood  of  business, 
should  be  wrecked  and  ruined  provided  they  can 
secure  some  present  money  which  almost  all  goes 
to  the  army  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the 
heads  of  that  organization  in  a  life  of  vicious  in- 
dulgence in  the  capital  city. 

It  is  this  spirit  now  controlling  the  government 
which  has  destroyed  the  industry  of  Mexico  and 
deprived  hundreds  of  thousands  of  its  people  of 
the  chance  to  make  a  living;  has  caused  thousands 
of  them  to  starve  to  death;  has  reduced  the  com- 
pensation of  its  labourers  and  school  teachers 
until  their  incomes  will  barely  sustain  life,  or  has 
deprived  them  of  employment  altogether  and  has 
made  the  country  the  social  and  economic  wreck 
that  it  stands  to-day. 

No  account  of  the  treatment  of  foreigners  by 
the  Carrancistas  would  be  complete  without  a 
reference  to  the  number  of  American  citizens  who 
have  lost  their  lives  at  the  hands  of  the  revolu- 
tionists. 


i yo  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

A  list  of  285  American  citizens,  with  their  names 
and  addresses,  who  were  killed  by  Mexican  revolu- 
tionists between  December,  1910,  and  September, 
1916,  was  carefully  compiled  by  private  parties 
for  the  information  of  our  Government.  This 
list,  which  is  given  in  full  in  Appendix  III,  did  not 
pretend  to  be  complete,  for  it  did  not  include  the 
two  officers  and  thirteen  men  killed  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  Carranza  at  Carrizal,  nor  many  other 
Americans  known  to  have  been  killed  but  whom 
it  has  not  been  possible  to  identify. 

The  most  disquieting  feature  of  this  shameful 
series  of  crimes  is  that  it  has  continued  uninter- 
rupted and  unrebuked  to  the  present  moment. 
The  New  York  Times  of  October  20,  1918,  con- 
tained a  list  of  sixty-one  outrages  including  ten  mur- 
ders and  two  kidnappings,  the  victims  of  which  were 
held  for  ransom,  not  for  all  of  Mexico,  be  it  re- 
membered, but  for  the  oil  regions  alone,  in  a  period 
of  six  months  and  eight  days  ending  July  31,  1918, 
an  average  of  an  outrage  every  three  days.  This 
list  is  reproduced  in  Appendix  IV.  It  will  be 
noted  that  not  all  the  crimes  were  committed  by 
banditti  but  that  some  were  perpetrated  by  Car- 
ranza soldiers  in  uniform.  In  one  instance  Car- 
ranza soldiers  overtook  banditti  who  had  just 
robbed  a  launch  of  a  considerable  sum  and  robbed 
the  robbers.  In  still  another  instance  the  banditti 
compelled  their  victim  to  sign  a  certificate  to 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  171 

satisfy  their  commander  that  they  had  stolen 
everything  there  was  to  take.  The  oil  fields  offer 
a  happy  hunting  ground  for  robbers  in  uniform  or 
out  of  it,  because  money  is  more  plentiful  there 
than  elsewhere,  as  the  petroleum  industry  is  about 
the  only  one  left  in  anything  approximating  full 
operation. 

Probably  no  better  statement  of  outrages  upon 
the  persons  of  Americans  could  be  made  than  that 
contained  in  the  letter  of  our  Secretary  of  State 
of  June  20,  1916,  addressed  to  the  "Secretary  of 
Foreign  Relations  of  the  de  facto  government  of 
Mexico."  This  letter  was  provoked  by  a  most 
impudent  communication  addressed  by  C.  Aguilar, 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Relations  of  the  Carranza 
r6gime,  which  the  United  States  had  recognized 
as  the  de  facto  government  of  Mexico,  to  Sec- 
retary of  State  Lansing,  in  which  the  writer  ac- 
cused our  Government  of  bad  faith  in  sending 
troops  into  Mexico  to  apprehend  bandits  who  had 
invaded  our  country  and  murdered  our  citizens. 
The  letter  of  Secretary  Lansing  in  reply  is  probably 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  documents  ever 
framed  by  an  officer  of  a  responsible  government 
in  the  showing  that  it  made  of  tame  submission 
to  outrages  upon  its  citizens.  The  only  consola- 
tion for  an  American  citizen  in  the  whole  dismal 
recital  is  found  in  the  evident  burning  indignation 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  the  existence  of  condi- 


172  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

tions  which  made  such  a  letter]  possible.     In  his 
letter  the  Secretary  says  (Italics  are  the  author's): 


"  For  three  years  the  Mexican  Republic  has  been 
torn  with  civil  strife;  the  lives  of  Americans  and 
other  aliens  have  been  sacrificed;  vast  properties 
developed  by  American  capital  and  enterprise  have 
been  destroyed  or  rendered  unproductive;  bandits 
have  been  permitted  to  roam  at  will  through  the 
territory  contiguous  to  the  United  States  and  to 
seize,  without  punishment  or  without  effective 
attempt  at  punishment,  the  property  of  Amer- 
icans, while  the  lives  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  who  ventured  to  remain  in  Mexican  ter- 
ritory, or  to  return  to  protect  their  interests,  have 
been  taken,  in  some  cases  barbarously  taken,  and 
the  murderers  have  neither  been  apprehended  nor 
brought  to  justice. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  the  annals  of  the 
history  of  Mexico  conditions  more  deplorable  than 
those  that  have  existed  there  during  these  recent 
years  of  civil  war. 

"  It  would  be  tedious  to  recount  instance  after 
instance,  outrage  after  outrage,  atrocity  after 
atrocity,  to  illustrate  the  true  nature  and  extent  of 
the  widespread  conditions  of  lawlessness  and 
violence  which  have  prevailed.  During  the  past 
nine  months  in  particular,  the  frontier  of  the  United 
States  along  lower  Rio  Grande  has  been  thrown 
into  a  state  of  constant  apprehension  and  turmoil 
because  of  frequent  and  sudden  incursions  into 
American  territory  and  depredations  and  murders 
on  American  soil  by  Mexican  bandits,  who  have 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          173 

taken  the  lives  and  destroyed  the  property  of  Amer- 
ican citizens,  sometimes  carrying  American  citizens 
across  the  international  boundary  with  the  booty 
seized. 


"American  garrisons  have  been  attacked  at 
night,  American  soldiers  killed  and  their  equip- 
ment and  horses  stolen.  American  ranches  have 
been  raided,  property  stolen  and  destroyed,  and 
American  trains  wrecked  and  plundered.  The 
attacks  on  Brownsville,  Red  House  Ferry,  Pro- 
greso  Post  Office,  and  Las  Peladas,  all  occurring 
during  September  last,  are  typical.  In  these  attacks 
on  American  territory,  Carrancista  adherents,  and 
even  Carrancista  soldiers,  took  part  in  the  looting, 
burning,  and  killing.  Not  only  were  these  murders 
characterized  by  ruthless  brutality,  but  uncivilized 
acts  of  mutilation  were  perpetrated.  Representa- 
tions were  made  to  General  Carranza,  and  he  was 
emphatically  requested  to  stop  reprehensive  acts 
in  a  section  which  he  has  long  claimed  to  be  under 
the  complete  dominion  of  his  authority.  Notwith- 
standing these  representations  and  the  promise  of 
General  Nafaratte  to  prevent  attacks  along  the 
international  boundary,  in  the  following  month  of 
October  a  passenger  train  was  wrecked  by  ban- 
dits, and  several  persons  killed,  seven  miles  north 
of  Brownsville,  and  an  attack  was  made  upon 
United  States  troops  at  the  same  place  several  days 
later. 

"Since  these  attacks,  leaders  of  the  bandits, 
well  known  both  to  Mexican  civil  and  military 
authorities,  as  well  as  to  American  officers,  have 


174  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

been  enjoying  with  impunity  the  liberty  of  the 
towns  of  northern  Mexico. 

"So  far  has  the  indifference  of  the  de  facto  govern- 
ment to  these  atrocities  gone  that  some  of  these  leaders, 
as  I  am  advised,  have  received  not  only  the  protection 
of  that  government,  but  encouragement  and  aid  as  well. 
Depredations  upon  American  persons  and  prop- 
erty within  Mexican  jurisdiction  have  been  still 
more  numerous. 

"  This  Government  has  repeatedly  requested,  in 
the  strongest  terms,  that  the  de  facto  government 
safeguard  the  lives  and  homes  of  American  citizens 
and  furnish  the  protection,  which  international 
obligations  impose,  to  American  interests  in  the 
northern  states  of  Tamaulipas,  Nuevo  Leon, 
Coahuila,  Chihuahua,  and  Sonora,  and  also  in  the 
states  to  the  south. 

"For  example,  on  January  3d,  troops  were 
requested  to  punish  the  band  of  outlaws  which 
looted  the  Cusi  mining  property,  eighty  miles  west 
of  Chihuahua,  but  no  effective  results  came  of  this 
request. 

"During  the  following  week  the  bandit,  Villa, 
with  his  band  of  about  200  men,  was  operating 
without  opposition  between  Rubio  and  Santa 
Ysabel,  a  fact  well  known  to  Carrancista  authori- 
ties. Meanwhile  a  party  of  unfortunate  Amer- 
icans started  by  train  from  Chihuahua  to  visit  the 
Cusi  mines,  after  "having  received  assurances  from 
the  Carrancista  authorities  in  the  state  of  Chihuahua 
that  the  country  was  safe  and  that  a  guard  on  the  train 
was  not  necessary.  The  Americans  held  passports 
of  safe  conduct  issued  by  the  authorities  of  the  de 
facto  government.  On  January  loth,  the  train  was 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          175 

stopped  by  Villa  bandits  and  eighteen  of  the  Amer- 
ican party  were  stripped  of  their  clothing  and  shot 
in  cold  blood  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Santa 
Ysabel  Massacre.  *  *  *  Within  a  month  after 
this  barbarous  slaughter  of  inoffensive  Americans, 
it  was  notorious  that  Villa  was  operating  within 
twenty  miles  of  Cusihuiriachic  and  publicly 
stated  that  his  purpose  was  to  destroy  American 
lives  and  property.  Despite  repeated  and  insis- 
tent demands  that  military  protection  should  be 
furnished  to  Americans,  Villa  openly  carried  on 
his  operations,  constantly  approaching  closer  and 
closer  to  the  border.  He  was  not  intercepted  nor 
were  his  movements  impeded  by  troops  of  the  de 
facto  government  and  no  effectual  attempt  was 
made  to  frustrate  his  hostile  designs  against  Ameri- 
cans. In  fact,  as  I  am  informed,  while  Villa  and 
his  band  were  slowly  moving  toward  the  American 
frontier  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Columbus,  N.  M., 
not  a  single  Mexican  soldier  was  seen  in  this  vicinity, 
yet  tie  Mexican  authorities  were  fully  cognisant  of 
his  movements  and  on  March  6,  as  General  Gavira 
publicly  announced,  he  advised  the  military  author- 
Hies  of  the  outlaws1  approach  to  the  border  so  that 
they  might  be  prepared  to  prevent  him  from  crossing 
the  boundary. 

"Villa's  unhindered  activities  culminated  in  the 
unprovoked  and  cold-blooded  attack  upon  Amer- 
ican soldiers  and  citizens  in  the  town  of  Columbus 
on  the  night  of  March  9,  the  details  of  which  do  not 
need  repetition  here  in  order  to  refresh  your  mem- 
ory with  the  heinousness  of  the  crime.  After 
murdering,  burning,  and  plundering,  Villa  and  his 
bandits,  fleeing  south,  passed  within  sight  of  tie 


i76          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Carrancista  military  post  at  Casas  Grandes,  and 
no  effort  was  made  to  stop  ~him  by  the  officers  and 
garrison  of  the  de  facto  government  stationed 
there.  *  *  *  American  forces  pursued  the  law- 
less bandits  as  far  as  Parral  where  the  pursuit  was 
halted  by  the  hostility  of  Mexicans  presumed  to  be 
loyal  to  the  de  facto  government,  who  arrayed 
themselves  on  the  side  of  outlawry  and  became  in 
effect  the  protectors  of  Villa  and  his  band.  *  *  * 
I  am  reluctant  to  be  forced  to  the  conclusion  which 
might  be  drawn  from  these  circumstances  that  the 
de  facto  government,  in  spite  of  the  crimes  com- 
mitted and  the  sinister  designs  of  Villa  and  his 
followers,  did  not  and  do  not  now  intend  or  desire 
that  these  outlaws  should  be  captured,  destroyed, 
or  dispersed  by  American  troops,  or  at  the  request 
of  this  Government,  by  Mexican  troops.  *  *  * 
Candour  compels  me  to  add  that  the  unconcealed 
hostility  of  the  subordinate  military  commanders  of 
the  de  facto  government  toward  the  American  troops 
engaged  in  pursuing  the  Villa  bandits  and  the  efforts 
of  the  de  facto  government  to  compel  their  withdrawal 
from  Mexican  territory  by  threats  and  show  of 
military  force,  instead  of  by  aiding  in  the  capture 
of  the  outlaws,  constitute  a  menace  to  the  safety 
of  American  troops  and  to  the  peace  of  the  border. 
*  *  *  In  view  of  this  increased  menace,  of 
the  inactivity  of  the  Carran^a  forces,  of  the  lack 
of  co-operation  in  the  apprehension  of  the  Villa  ban- 
dits and  of  the  known  encouragement  and  aid  given  to 
bandit  leaders,  it  is  unreasonable  to  expect  the 
United  States  to  withdraw  its  forces  from  Mexican 
territory  or  to  prevent  their  entry  again  when  their 
presence  is  the  only  check  upon  further  bandit  out- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  177 

rages  and  the  only  efficient  means  of  protecting 
American  lives  and  homes, — safeguards  which 
General  Carranza,  though  internationally  obligated 
to  supply,  is  manifestly  unable  or  unwilling  to 
give." 

Surely  no  further  proof  should  be  needed  of  the 
fact  that  Carranza  and  his  followers  have,  from  the 
very  beginning,  been  inspired  by  a  spirit  of  law- 
less aggression  in  their  dealings  with  Americans 
and  the  citizens  of  our  allies,  England  and  France, 
which  has  led  them  to  violate  every  principle  of 
international  law  which  is  supposed  to  govern  the 
conduct  of  a  country  toward  the  nationals  of  other 
countries. 

That  the  Carranza  party  has  been  permitted  to 
carry  on  without  restraint  its  lawless  dealings 
with  the  persons  and  properties  of  all  foreigners 
in  Mexico,  except  the  citizens  of  Germany,  must 
be  accepted  as  one  of  the  results  of  the  great  war; 
but,  in  view  of  the  failure  of  our  own  Government, 
during  eight  years'  revolutionary  activity  in  Mexico, 
to  furnish  any  protection  worthy  of  the  name  to 
the  persons  and  property  rights  of  Americans  in 
that  country,  we  probably  cannot  claim  that  the 
war  has  had  any  effect  upon  the  treatment  of 
American  citizens  there.  During  the  first  two 
years  of  revolution  begun  by  Madero  and  con- 
tinued by  several  leaders  who  challenged  his  power 
after  he  had  succeeded  Diaz,  many  offences  against 


I78          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

the  persons  and  property  of  Americans  in  Mexico 
and  along  the  border  were  committed  by  various 
revolutionary  bands.  During  this  period  our 
country  was  under  a  republican  administration, 
and  the  officers  of  that  administration  adopted  the 
course  of  refusing  protection  to  American  citizens 
against  offences  from  armed  Mexicans,  which  ap- 
pears to  have  been  followed  by  our  Government 
continuously  since  that  time.  In  a  speech  made 
in  the  United  States  Senate  on  March  9,  1914,  the 
Honorable  Albert  B.  Fall,  United  States  Senator 
from  New  Mexico,  in  criticizing  the  failure  of 
President  Taft's  administration  to  afford  protec- 
tion to  Americans  against  lawless  invasion  of  their 
rights  by  Mexicans,  said  in  reference  to  the  killing 
of  our  citizens  in  El  Paso  by  bullets  from  the  guns 
of  Mexican  revolutionists: 

•I  "The  United  States  troops  patrolled  the  city, 
the  streets,  the  water  front,  and  the  boundary  line. 
/  Telegrams  were  sent  backward  and  forward,  one  of 
the  officers,  at  least,  demanding  that  he  be  allowed 
to  go  across  into  Mexico  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  threatened  danger  to  Americans  on  this 
side,  in  a  city  of  50,000  people.  But  they  were  not 
allowed  to  enforce  their  warning  and  18  American 
citizens,  including  women,  were  shot  down  in  the 
streets  of  El  Paso. 

"  Mr.  President,  when  their  friends  asked  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  that  it  might 
investigate  the  killing  of  American  citizens  on 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          179 

American  soil  and  obtain  for  their  families  some 
little  measure  of  relief  in  the  payment  of  damages 
to  those  who  needed  it  for  their  daily  subsistence, 
this  great  Nation  in  writing  refused  to  consider 
their  cases  and  relegated  them  to  the  Mexican 
courts  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 

"  Finally  this  matter  was  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  the 
Senator  from  Arizona  (Mr.  Smith)  and  myself,  and 
when  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  finally 
understood  the  matter  they  took  it  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  State  Department,  which  had  proven  itself 
incapable  and  unworthy  in  dealing  with  affairs  of 
this  kind,  and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the  War  De- 
partment, who  found  damages  to  American  citi- 
zens in  El  Paso  for  killing  and  wounding  Ameri- 
cans, to  the  amount  of  $71,000  which  should  be 
paid  by  this  Government,  which  might  thereafter 
undertake  to  enforce  its  claims  upon  the  govern- 
ment of  Mexico. 

"The  Senate,  Mr.  President,  I  am  proud  to  say, 
made  an  appropriation  a  year  ago  for  the  payment 
of  these  claims.  Now  the  people  are  back  here 
begging  again  at  the  hands  of  this  Government 
that  some  little  measure  of  justice  to  the  children 
and  widows  of  American  citizens  shot  down  on 
American  soil  may  be  provided  as  for  two  or  three 
years  they  have  been  compelled  to  depend  upon 
their  own  efforts." 


It  may  not  be  amiss  at  this  point  to  recall  the 
fact  that  when  the  United  States  recognized  the 
Carranza  administration  as  the  de  jure  govern- 


180  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

ment  of  Mexico  it  became  legally  bound  under 
international  law  to  collect  all  just  claims  of 
American  citizens  for  damages  to  property  or 
injuries  to  person  from  the  Mexican  Government. 
Failing  so  to  collect,  this  Nation  is  morally,  though 
not  legally,  bound  to  pay  the  claims  itself.  We 
recognized  this  principle  of  international  law  some 
forty  years  ago  when  twenty-one  Chinamen  were 
hanged  in  Los  Angeles  during  an  anti-Chinese 
outburst.  Although  China  had  no  navy  and  was 
wholly  incapable  of  enforcing  any  claim  we  vol- 
untarily paid  the  bill  for  damages.  We  again 
recognized  this  principle  a  few  years  later,  when  a 
number  of  Italians  were  lynched  at  New  Orleans, 
by  paying  promptly  and  without  protest  a  bill  for 
damages  from  the  Italian  Government.  Finally 
we  have  recognized  the  duty  of  Government  to 
protect  its  citizens  wherever  they  may  be,  in  more 
than  a  hundred  instances  in  various  places  from 
the  Chinese  coast  to  Armenia;  from  Patagonia 
to  Japan  and  on  the  Barbary  coast.  When 
armed  force  was  necessary  to  insure  protection 
or  exact  reparation  for  injury  to  its  citizens  the 
American  Government  has  not  hesitated  to  use 
such  force  in  the  past.  Indeed,  the  protection  of 
its  citizens  abroad  as  well  as  at  home  is  one  of  the 
fundamental  functions  for  which  governments 
are  created. 
So  bitterly  did  the  citizens  of  the  border  states 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          181 

resent  the  failure  of  President  Taft's  administra- 
tion to  protect  the  rights  of  American  citizens  that 
the  National  Democratic  Convention  of  1912  in- 
cluded in  its  platform  the  following  plank  drafted 
by  a  delegate  from  El  Paso: 

"The  constitutional  rights  of  American  citizens 
should  protect  them  on  our  borders  and  go  with 
them  throughout  the  world,  and  every  American 
citizen  residing  or  having  property  in  any  foreign 
country  is  entitled  to  and  must  be  given  the  full 
protection  of  the  United  States  Government,  both 
for  himself  and  his  property/' 

Now  note  how  the  pledge  was  fulfilled.  In  a 
speech  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  March  9,  1914, 
Hon.  Albert  B.  Fall,  Senator  from  New  Mexico, 
related  his  experience,  in  seeking  protection  for 
Americans  in  Mexico,  at  the  hands  of  Secretary  of 
State  Bryan,  who  figured  conspicuously  in  the 
convention  that  adopted  this  pledge,  and  who  was 
appointed  to  the  highest  seat  in  the  cabinet  by  the 
president  elected  upon  the  platform  containing 
the  pledge.  Said  the  Senator: 

"  I  went  to  the  Secretary  of  State  (Mr.  Bryan) 
myself  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  to  him  a  con- 
crete case  which  occurred  in  the  town  of  Cananea, 
where  an  American  citizen  was  threatened  with 
deportation  by  the  so-called  authorities  of  that 


182  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Mexican  state.  During  that  conversation  the 
same  subject  (character  of  American  citizens  in 
Mexico),  was  brought  up  to  me,  and  it  was  stated 
that  the  Americans  who  were  in  Mexico  were  not 
Americans  who  were  seeking  to  make  homes  there 
and  help  the  country,  but  they  were  solely  repre- 
sentatives of  corporations,  there  for  the  purpose  of 
exploiting  the  people,  obtaining  possessions,  getting 
hold  of  dollars,  and  coming  back  to  this  country, 
and  that  they  bad  no  right  to  demand  protection  for 
their  property". 


Other  responsible  officials  of  this  Government 
have  since  sought  to  justify  their  failure  to  protect 
the  persons  and  property  of  Americans  against  law- 
less aggression  in  Mexico  by  the  astounding  alle- 
gation that  our  citizens  had  so  conducted  them- 
selves there  that  they  were  unworthy  of  protection 
by  this  Government!  Under  such  circumstances 
it  is  hardly  surprising  that  crimes  against  the  per- 
sons and  property  of  Americans  in  Mexico,  not 
alone  by  revolutionists,  but  also  by  the  present 
recognized  government,  have  been  continued  and 
enormously  increased. 

It  is  beyond  belief  that  England  and  France 
would  have  submitted  tamely  to  the  outrages  per- 
petrated upon  their  citizens  if  they  had  not  been 
so  fully  occupied  in  fighting  the  German  friends  of 
the  Carrancistas  for  the  freedom  of  the  world. 
The  fact  that  in  this  emergency  America  failed 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  183 

to  do  anything  for  the  protection  of  the  nationals 
of  these  two  countries  furnishes  no  very  strik- 
ing evidence  of  our  inclination  and  capacity 
to  discharge  the  duty  of  maintaining  orderly 
government  in  the  Americas,  which  we  have 
sometimes  accepted  as  a  corollary  of  the  Monroe 
Doctrine. 

Citizens  are  urged  by  the  Government  to  help 
extend  our  foreign  commerce.  No  argument 
should  be  needed  to  prove  that  in  order  to  develop 
commerce  with  a  foreign  country  our  citizens 
must  acquire  business  enterprises  there.  Every 
successful  commercial  nation  has  followed  that 
policy.  The  two  peoples  that  have  been  most 
successful  in  developing  foreign  commerce  in  the 
last  half  century  are  the  English  and  the  Ger- 
mans. In  the  case  of  both  the  most  prominent 
factor  in  their  success  has  been  the  acquisition  or 
creation  of  business  enterprises  abroad.  Ger- 
many's activity  in  this  direction  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  alien  property  custodian  has  taken 
possession  of  German  investments  in  the  United 
States  valued  at  more  than  eight  hundred  million 
dollars. 

The  attitude  of  the  American  Government, 
as  exemplified  in  its  dealing  with  Mexican 
affairs,  is  that  its  citizens  perpetrate  a  great 
wrong  against  any  country  with  which  they 
try  to  develop  commerce  unless  they  expatriate 


1 84  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

themselves  and  make  their  permanent  homes 
there. 

There  was  an  especially  good  reason  why  Amer- 
icans who  went  into  Mexico  should  not  give  up 
their  citizenship.  While  they  were  willing  to  risk 
their  persons  and  the  money  they  invested  they 
could  not  be  expected  to  forget  that  until  Diaz 
established  law  and  order  Mexico  had  witnessed 
the  rise  and  fall  of  seventy  odd  heads  of  govern- 
ment, in  almost  every  instance  as  the  result  of  a 
violent  revolution  of  which  the  prominent  feature 
was  the  looting  of  private  property.  Doubtless, 
Americans  who  cast  their  business  fortunes  in 
Mexico  remembered  the  uncertainty  of  govern- 
ment during  more  than  fifty  years,  and  for  that 
reason  determined  to  maintain  their  American 
citizenship  to  which  they  might  appeal  for  pro- 
tection in  the  event  that  the  Latin-Mexican  ele- 
ment, which  had  exhibited  its  lawless  greed  so  of- 
ten, should  attempt  to  violate  their  rights.  That, 
when  the  day  of  need  came  for  them  to  claim 
the  shelter  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  its  protection 
was  denied  them,  is  the  saddest,  most  tragic 
chapter  in  all  the  history  of  our  dealings  with 
Mexico. 

The  Americans  who  went  into  Mexico  upon  the 
invitation  of  the  government  and  played  a  great 
part  in  promoting  the  country's  economic  welfare 
are  exactly  the  same  sort  of  Americans  who  by  the 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  185 

tens  of  thousands  have  within  the  past  two  decades 
emigrated  to  the  wheat  lands  of  Western  Canada. 
These  men,  confident  of  the  sort  of  government 
that  they  would  be  given  by  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  became  citizens  of  Canada  and  for  more  than 
four  years  fought  the  battles  of  their  adopted 
country  on  the  western  front  as  a  part  of  the 
Canadian  troops  who  have  made  such  glorious 
history. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  destruction 
by  the  Carranza  government  of  the  property  of 
citizens  of  our  allies  who  for  more  than  four 
years  fought  Germany,  a  reference  to  its  effect 
upon  the  war  would  not  be  inappropriate.  That 
such  effect  was  achieved  and  that  it  was  and 
is  seriously  burdensome  to  the  Allies  is  easily 
shown. 

The  demands  of  the  war  have  been  particularly 
heavy  upon  copper,  lead,  rubber,  and  food,  and  the 
actions  of  the  Carranza  party  have  had  a  marked 
influence  upon  the  production  of  all  of  those 
articles.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  secure  at 
the  present  time  any  definite  comparative  figures 
by  which  the  destruction  of  the  industries  produc- 
ing those  staples  in  Mexico  can  be  accurately  indi- 
cated. In  the  latter  part  of  1916,  certain  Ameri- 
can mining  interests  operating  in  Mexico,  sup- 
posed to  represent  in  mass  about  two  thirds  of  the 
American  mining  interests  in  that  country,  com- 


186  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

piled  for  the  use  of  our  officials  some  figures  show- 
ing the  difference  between  the  production  of  cer- 
tain metals  in  the  year  1912,  the  year  before  the 
Carranza  revolution  started,  and  in  the  first  half 
of  the  year  1916.  Following  is  a  tabulation  of 
these  figures: 

1912  FIRST  HALF  OF  igi6 

Ore.    .  .  5,180,059  tons  904,131  tons 

Gold  .  .  252,843  ounces  39,895  ounces 

Silver.  .  31,892,735  ounces  6,200,339  ounces 

Copper  .  74*984  tons  .23,156  tons 

Lead  .  .  70,939  tons  2,928  tons 

Zinc   .  .  46,765  tons  11,183  t°ns 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  foregoing  table  shows 
a  reduction  in  the  production  of  two  metals  of 
prime  necessity  in  war,  copper  and  lead,  of  about 
38  per  cent,  in  the  former  and  more  than  91  per 
cent,  in  the  lead  production.  If  to  the  foregoing 
figures  should  be  added  the  reduced  production  of 
the  American  mining  interests  not  represented, 
the  loss  would,  of  course,  be  increased  by  50  per 
cent. 

With  the  present  development  of  the  auto- 
vehicle,  rubber  is  an  article  of  prime  necessity, 
especially  in  war.  The  following  table  prepared 
by  the  American  companies  engaged  in  producing 
rubber  from  the  Guayule  shrub  in  Mexico  com- 
pares the  production  of  the  years  1910,  which 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          187 

witnessed  the  beginning  of  revolutionary  activities, 
and  1916: 

PRODUCTION  OF  GUAYULE  RUBBER 
From  January,  1910,  to  December,  1916 

POUNDS 
YEAR  PRODUCED 

IQIO  ..........  28,488,320 

1911  ..........  24,144,960 

1912  .....    i    .    .    .    .  20,172,000 

1913  ..........  6,177,840 

1914  ..........  1,904,000 

1915  ..........  5>976,007 

..........  1,070,924 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  production  of  this  neces- 
sity for  the  military  establishments  of  our  country 
and  its  allies  during  the  war  was  reduced  by  more 
than  96  per  cent.  This,  however,  does  not  tell 
the  full  story  of  the  loss.  All  rubber  imported  into 
the  United  States  from  Mexico  can  be  brought  by 
railroad.  All  other  rubber  imported  required  the 
use  of  ocean  tonnage  which  was  so  precious  after 
our  entrance  into  the  war.  As  the  result  of  the 
destruction  of  rubber  production  in  Mexico,  many 
millions  of  pounds,  to  offset  the  loss,  had  to  be 
brought  in  by  the  use  of  much  maritime  tonnage 
which  might,  of  course,  have  been  used  for  other 
most  necessary  purposes. 


1 88  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

The  condition  of  the  Mexican  population,  as 
indicated  in  the  matter  quoted  from  various 
sources,  has  resulted  in  a  great  reduction  of  food 
production  in  that  country.  This  reduction  has 
been  so  great  that  it  was  estimated  about  the 
beginning  of  1918  that  the  United  States  would 
have  to  permit  at  least  a  hundred  million  bushels 
of  corn  to  be  shipped  into  Mexico  to  avert  threat- 
ened starvation.  In  addition  to  this  the  burden 
of  the  allies  who  were  fighting  Germany  was  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  at  least  a  billion  and  a 
half  dollars  of  the  money  of  the  United  States  and 
her  allies  invested  in  Mexico  has  had  its  earning 
power  destroyed  by  confiscations  and  other  law- 
less exactions  of  the  Carranza  government.  Under 
normal  conditions  these  Mexican  investments  had 
a  very  high  earning  power  which  could  have  borne 
a  not  inconsiderable  share  of  the  burdens  of  war. 
It  must  have  been  a  matter  of  distinct  gratifica- 
tion to  Carranza  and  his  pro-German  associates 
that  they  were  able  to  contribute  so  much  to  the 
aid  of  Germany  and  the  burdens  of  her  opponents. 

But  at  last  some,  at  least,  of  the  Mexicans  have 
awakened  to  an  uncomfortable  realization  that  a 
day  of  reckoning  is  at  hand.  One  significant  indi- 
cation of  this  is  to  be  found  in  an  article  published 
in  A.  B.C.,  of  Mexico  City,  December  14,  1918. 
To  make  the  matter  more  interesting  the  article 
has  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  State 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          189 

Department  at  Washington  and  of  members  of 
Congress.  A.  B.  C.  is  the  first  independent  news- 
paper of  the  Carranza  regime.  It  came  into 
notoriety  at  a  time  when  one  of  its  most  prominent 
contributors,  Licentiate  Eduardo  Pallares,  was  as- 
saulted in  a  cowardly  manner  by  a  noted  Mexican 
military  chief,  now  at  large  in  that  city.  Its 
editor  was  also  brutally  assaulted  a  few  days  later; 
and  as  a  result  of  the  action  of  the  military  and 
Germanophile  Minister  of  the  Interior  the  paper 
suspended  publication.  It  has  recently  resumed 
publication,  showing  the  same  virility  and  inde- 
pendence as  before.  The  leading  article  in  the 
first  issue  after  resumption  began:  "As  we  said 
yesterday/'  etc.,  which  was  the  editorial  way  of 
refusing  to  recognize  its  suspension  or  to  recant 
anything  it  had  said.  The  article  referred  to  of 
December  14,  1918  said: 

"  By  a  strange  coincidence,  the  triumph  of  the 
Constitutionalist  Revolution  in  August,  1914, 
coincided  with  the  beginning  of  a  war  in  Europe, 
whose  consequences  and  duration  none  could  fore- 
see, but  which  would  certainly  contribute  toward 
a  definitive  change  in  methods  of  government. 
But  peace  once  more  has  come  to  the  world,  and 
governments  are  beginning  to  balance  their  books 
after  the  outpouring  of  men  and  material  that  the 
war  required.  But  not  alone  those  nations  that 
took  part  in  the  struggle  are  checking  up  their  ac- 
counts after  these  past  four  years,  but  also  those 


o  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

that  held  aloof  either  through  egoism  or  through 
necessity  are  making  up  their  books,  for  they  fully 
realize  that  the  fruits  of  victory  will  be  shared  by 
all,  in  the  measure  of  their  deserts,  and  of  certain 
special  circumstances,  and  that  the  keen  eye  of  the 
investigator  will  know  how  to  weigh  the  attitude 
adopted  by  each  in  the  war  and  to  give  to  each 
what  he  deserves. 

"As  members,  then,  of  a  community  which  must 
shortly  be  the  subject  of  inquiry  of  the  chanceries  of 
the  world,  our  duty  is  to  help  our  government  in  its 
tasks  and  to  speak  frankly,  for  the  day  of  reckoning 
is  upon  us  and  we  must  avoid  malicious  deceptions 
and  futile  excuses  which  can  only  place  our  country 
in  a  humiliating  position.  It  is  preferable  to  fall 
face  forward  than  to  drop  on  our  knees  in  sup- 
pliant tone. 

"For  four  years  and  four  months,  the  Consti- 
tutionalists in  Mexico  have  conducted  things  in  total 
disregard  for  the  interests  of  all  who  did  not  belong 
to  the  political  group  in  power.  Not  the  most  rudi- 
mentary principles  of  practical  politics,  nor  the 
most  elementary  rules  of  diplomacy  and  courtesy 
stopped  their  action.  Like  the  tables  of  proscrip- 
tion which  gave  such  ill-fame  to  Scylla,  there  were 
expelled  from  the  country  nationals  and  foreigners 
alike,  without  regard  even  for  the  diplomatic  status 
of  some  of  the  expelled.  When  Belgium  was 
receiving  the  kindly  consideration  of  all  civilized 
nations  for  the  heroic  resistance  she  offered  against 
the  violators  of  her  sovereignty,  she  received  a  sam- 
ple of  the  characteristic  courtesy  which  the  Constitu- 
tionalists were  beginning  to  show:  her  Minister  was 
forced  to  leave  at  the  express  bidding  of  the  revolu- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  191 

tionary  authorities.  Later,  the  representatives  of 
other  nations,  among  them  England,  Guatemala  and 
Spain,  also  left  the  country  because  they  were  held 
to  be  enemies  of  the  revolution,  while  the  representa- 
tive of  Brazil  was  accused  of  reactionary  tendencies 
just  at  the  moment  when  he  was  leaving  to  report 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  to  his 
conduct  of  affairs  while  representing  this  latter 
nation.  Diplomatic  amenities  were  dispensed 
with;  all  were  treated  as  if  Dr.  Francia  had  held  the 
portfolio  of  Foreign  Affairs.  And  if  this  was  the 
fate  of  representatives  accredited  to  Mexico,  what 
was  not  the  lot  of  the  ordinary  citizens  of  these 
countries,  whose  governments,  on  account  of  the  state 
of  war,  could  not  give  the  necessary  protection  to  their 
nationals?  We  do  not  deny  that  in  certain  cases 
the  conduct  of  the  above-mentioned  diplomatic 
representatives  may,  at  times,  have  been  irregular, 
but,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  action  of  the  Constitu- 
tionalist government  was,  because  of  its  display  of 
brute  force,  both  unwise  and  impolitic.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  our  opinion  that  the  majority  of 
cases  of  the  expulsion  of  foreigners  was  justified; 
which  was  not  the  case,  however,  with  that  of  the 
nationals,  some  of  whom  were  driven  out  under 
most  infamous  conditions. 

"It  is  proper  to  recall  that  by  virtue  of,  'might 
is  right'  theory,  the  properties  of  many  foreigners 
were  seized,  many  of  them  being  still  administered  by 
the  government,  now  ruled  by  a  political  constitution 
which  the  Constitutionalists  saw  fit  to  impose  upon 
the  nation.  The  protests,  covering  each  and  every  one 
of  these  acts,  on  file  in  our  Department,  will  have  to 
be  drawn  out  of  the  pigeon-holes  into  which  they  have 


2  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

been  relegated,  in  order  to  be  considered  anew;  but 
excuses  and  pleas  will  no  longer  avail,  for  the  bour 
has  struck  and  the  decision  must  be  made.  IV bat 
answer  can  be  given  as  to  the  cancellation  of  bank 
concessions  and  the  forced  loans  from  the  banks,  as  to 
the  seizure  of  the  tramways  and  of  the  Mexican  rail- 
roads, as  to  the  indefinite  suspension  of 'the  public  debt 
services,  as  to  failure  to  meet  the  railroad  coupons, 
etc.,  etc.?  We  frankly  do  not  know;  but  we  foresee 
the  full  weight  of  responsibilities,  and  as  Mexicans 
earnestly  desire  a  solution  satisfactory  to  our  dig- 
nity and  decorum.  This  doubt,  however,  assails 
us :  Are  those  who  direct  our  destinies  in  these  days 
able  to  settle  such  momentous  problems?  If  the 
group  at  present  all-powerful  in  administration  cir- 
cles continues  as  it  has  heretofore,  without  new 
blood,  without  expelling  from  its  midst  the  corrupt 
elements,  we  can  readily  give  a  categorical  'NO.' 
"  We  must  set  down  here — for  this  is  the  gravest 
of  all  our  responsibilities — our  attitude  during  the 
war,  our  much  vaunted  nationalism  which  served 
as  a  ready  pretext  for  several  authorities  to  support 
the  Germanophile  press,  which  favoured  the  election 
of  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Teutons  in  Mexico 
as  Senator  for  the  Federal  District.  We  must 
think,  too,  of  the  whole  series  of  irritating  acts  of 
unjustified  arrogance,  of  idiotic  conduct  which  only 
the  folly  of  several  of  our  compatriots  made  pos- 
sible. We  must  recall  the  withdrawal  of  our  repre- 
sentative in  Cuba  as  the  first  step  toward  carrying 
out  a  new  international  doctrine.  We  think  of  so 
many  and  so  varied  proofs  of  leaning  toward  Germany 
which  if  we  were  to  relate  them  would  make  this 
article  too  long.  Our  purpose  is  merely  to  point 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          193 

out  to  our  authorities  the  error  of  their  ways,  so 
that  in  the  days  about  to  dawn  they  should  not  fall 
into  the  same  errors,  since  it  is  unfair  that  the  Mex- 
ican nation  and  people  should  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  the  mistakes,  whims  and  inefficiency  of 
certain,  short-visioned  authorities. 

"Peace  has  surprised  some  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Administration  who  believed  that  their  star  would  not 
set  so  soon,  that  the  struggle  would  be  indefinitely 
prolonged,  and  that,  at  last,  the  might  of  Germany 
would  impose  itself  upon  the  world.  All  these  il- 
lusions have  disappeared  in  thin  air,  and  they  are 
suddenly  brought  face  to  face  with  the  present  situa- 
tion. Let  them  take  up  new  positions,  because  the 
problems  with  which  they  are  beset  are  about  to  be 
settled,  the  hour  of  reckoning  has  struck,  and  we  must 
be  collected  in  order  to  appear  in  a  proper  role. 
We  earnestly  hope  for  this  on  behalf  of  Mexico,  so 
that  there  may  not  befall  her,  as  on  other  occasions 
guilt  which  is  solely  imputable  to  a  group  of  Mexi- 
cans blinded  by  pride  and  ambition." 


CHAPTER  V 

Causes  of  the  Evils  Which  Have  Afflicted  tie 
Mexican  People  Since  Their  Existence  as  a  Self- 
Governing  Nation  Began  in  1821 — The  Remedy 

NO  GOOD  purpose  would  be  served  by  the 
foregoing  recital  of  incompetence,  fatuity, 
and  crime  unless  it  led  to  an  understanding 
of  the  underlying  causes  of  Mexico's  woes  in  order 
that  a  remedy  may  be  found  and  applied.  A  short 
cut  to  enlightenment  may  be  found  in  a  brief 
r6sum6  of  events  since  the  patriot  priest,  Hidalgo, 
rang  the  grito,  or  alarm,  upon  the  bells  of  his  little 
church  at  Dolores  in  1810  to  call  together  a  few 
friends  to  begin  the  revolt  against  the  intolerable 
oppression  of  Spain  which  cost  the  mother  country 
what  had  been  her  most  important  dependency  in 
the  new  world  for  nearly  three  hundred  years. 
After  eleven  years  of  conflict,  in  the  second  year  of 
which  Hidalgo  paid  with  his  life  the  penalty  of  his 
patriotism,  Mexico,  in  1821,  established  her  inde- 
pendence and  began  her  career  as  a  self-governing 
nation  under  a  form  of  democracy. 

In  the  ninety-eight  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
then  there  has  hardly  been  a  year,  except  during 

194 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  195 

the  period  under  the  ruthless  rule  of  Diaz,  that  has 
not  been  marked  by  one  or  more  attempts  at 
revolution.  That  most  of  these  attempts  have 
been  successful  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  within 
this  period  Mexico  has  experimented  with  some 
thirty-eight  different  forms  of  government  under 
eighty-five  rules. 

During  the  fifty-five  years  which  elapsed  be- 
tween the  date  of  her  independence  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Diaz  to  power,  she  had  tried  thirty-six 
of  these  several  forms  of  government  under 
seventy-five  rulers.  This  excessive  mutability  in 
government  which  probably  no  other  people  on 
earth  ever  passed  through  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  the  existence  among  her  leaders  of  a  con- 
tempt for  law  and  order,  a  spirit  of  selfish  ambition 
and  lust  for  power  and  an  absence  of  the  restraints 
of  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the  public  welfare 
without  a  parallel  in  history. 

This  contempt  for  law  and  order  has  affected 
the  nation  not  alone  through  its  influence  on 
internal  affairs ;  it  has  also  resulted  in  several  grave 
international  complications. 

In  1838,  Mexico  became  involved  in  serious 
difficulty  with  France,  arising  from  outrages  on 
the  persons  and  property  of  French  citizens  at 
different  periods  of  her  revolutionary  history.  In 
that  year  the  French  Government,  wearied  with 
ineffectual  demands  for  reparation,  sent  a  fleet  of 


196  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

warships  to  bombard  the  fortifications  of  Vera 
Cruz. 

In  1837,  at  tne  request  of  President  Jackson,  the 
American  Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  him 
to  make  final  demand  upon  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment for  redress  for  numerous  outrages  that  had 
been  committed  upon  the  persons  and  property 
of  American  citizens,  and  to  use  the  naval  forces 
of  the  United  States  to  enforce  such  demand. 
After  years  of  negotiation,  signalized  by  numerous 
deceptions  and  Violations  of  diplomatic  agreements 
on  the  part  of  Mexico,  the  differences  between  that 
country  and  the  United  States  were  only  partly 
adjusted  and  later,  in  1846,  became  one  of  the  con- 
tributing causes  of  the  war  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. 

In  1 86 1,  Spain,  France,  and  England  entered 
into  an  agreement  to  take  joint  action  to  enforce 
certain  rights  which  they  had  against  the  Mexican 
Government,  and  this  afterward  led  to  French  in- 
tervention and  the  short-lived  empire  of  Maxi- 
milian. 

With  the  conclusion  of  the  Maximilian  epoch 
by  his  capture  and  execution,  in  1867,  the  republic 
was  again  restored,  with  Juarez  as  president.  In 
a  short  time  his  possession  of  the  oifice  was  chal- 
lenged by  Diaz,  who  failed  in  his  attempt  to  unseat 
him,  but,  later,  in  a  second  revolutionary  attempt 
against  Lerdo  de  Tejada,  who  had  succeeded 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          197 

Juarez  upon  the  latter's  death,  he  was  successful 
and  took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  government 
as  President  in  1876. 

For  thirty-four  years  Diaz  was  in  the  actual 
control  of  Mexico's  affairs,  and  during  this  period, 
with  the  exception  of  four  years  when  his  creature, 
Gonzales,  was  president,  he  was  the  official  head 
of  the  Mexican  Government.  Although  a  number 
of  revolutions  were  attempted  during  Diaz's  in- 
cumbency, his  great  ability,  and  the  stern  use  of 
force,  enabled  him  to  suppress  that  turbulent 
element  which  for  more  than  half  a  century  had 
been  responsible  for  a  condition  of  change  and  tur- 
moil, and  to  retain  control  of  Mexico's  affairs. 
During  this  period  Diaz,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
experience  of  Mexico  as  a  democracy,  brought 
order,  tranquillity,  and  a  fair  amount  of  honesty 
into  the  administration  of  its  governmental  af- 
fairs. He  addressed  himself  earnestly  to  the  ma- 
terial development  of  his  country  and,  whatever 
may  be  thought  of  the  character  of  the  structure 
that  he  reared,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  during 
his  term  of  power  he  showed  that  he  was  a  con- 
structive statesman  of  great  ability — a  type  of 
strong,  original,  and  effective  character  rarely 
produced  by  any  country  oftener  than  once  in  a 
century  or  more.  During  his  incumbency  the 
material  progress  of  his  country  was  remarkable, 
but  the  beneficent  results  of  that  progress  were  so 


!98  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

unevenly  distributed  among  the  people  that  there 
at  all  times  existed  a  smouldering  discontent  which 
was  bound  some  time  to  result  in  revolt.  It  did  so 
result  when  in  November,  1910,  Madero  began  his 
revolution  against  the  man  who,  for  so  many  years, 
had  been  president  in  name,  and  dictator  in  fact. 
Age  had  so  weakened  the  strong  man's  control  of 
affairs  that,*as  the  result  of  some  months  of  activity 
on  the  part  of  the  revolutionists,  he,  in  1911,  re- 
signed from  the  presidency  and  abandoned  his 
country. 

When  Diaz  surrendered  the  office  of  president 
and  left  the  country  the  interest  had  been  paid  so 
promptly  upon  the  national  indebtedness  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  that  Mexico's  credit 
was  equal  to  that  of  any  nation  in  the  world. 
During  the  last  few  years  of  the  Diaz  administra- 
tion, 36,500,000  pesos  from  the  public  revenues  had 
been  devoted  to  the  building  of  great  harbours  and 
other  public  works,  and  at  the  date  of  his  abdica- 
tion more  than  75,000,000  pesos  were  in  the  na- 
tional treasury.  The  Mexican  railroads,  including 
those  in  which  the  government  owned  the  stock 
control,  were  paying  interest  on  their  bonds  and 
dividends  to  stockholders.  Owing  to  the  develop- 
ment of  railroads  and  other  public  service  enter- 
prises, mining,  agriculture,  and  manufacturing, 
largely  by  foreign  capital,  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  Mexican  labourers  of  the  peon  class  were  receiv- 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  199 

ing  much  higher  wages  in  their  service  than  they 
had  ever  before  received.  Persons  and  property 
were  as  safe  in  Mexico  as  on  any  other  portion  of 
the  American  Continent.  The  old  warfare  be- 
tween Mexican  bandits  and  American  citizens 
along  the  border,  that  had  existed  practically  with- 
out interruption  from  1821  when  Mexico  gained 
her  independence  to  the  accession  of  Diaz  to  the 
presidency  in  1876,  had  ceased  for  so  long  that 
none  but  the  oldest  inhabitants  on  the  frontier 
could  recall  the  time  when  the  Texas  rangers  had 
been  organized  for  the  purpose  of  dealing  with 
Mexican  raids  across  the  border. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  President  Diaz  had  produced  great  de- 
velopment along  many  lines,  and  that  a  much 
greater  degree  of  prosperity  and  comfort  existed 
among  a  considerable  portion  of  the  working 
classes  than  ever  before,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
a  large  majority  of  the  labourers  in  the  service  of 
the  great  land  owners  were  inadequately  paid,  as 
they  had  been  since  the  native  population  was  as- 
signed to  the  vast  estates  into  which  the  country 
had  been  divided  by  the  Spanish  conquerors.  Nor 
can  there  be  any  doubt  that  the  welfare  of  the 
peons,  descendants  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants, 
constituting  80  per  cent,  of  the  population  was 
not  looked  after  as  humanity  and  a  proper  concep- 
tion of  the  duties  of  a  government  to  its  people  re- 


200  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

quired.  And,  because  it  was  felt  that  the  peons 
had  been  permitted  to  remain  in  economic  servi- 
tude and  had  been  denied  those  opportunities  for 
education  and  economic  advancement  to  which 
every  man  is  entitled,  many  friends  of  the  Mexican 
people  welcomed  the  success  of  the  Madero  revolu- 
tion in  the  hope  that  it  meant  a  better  chance  in 
life  for  the  submerged  majority. 

But  before  Madero  had  become  firmly  seated  in 
the  presidency,  it  became  evident  that  the  old 
spirit  of  political  unrest  and  unpatriotic  lust  for 
power  and  loot,  which  had  destroyed  the  capacity 
of  government  for  good  from  the  date  of  its  inde- 
pendence to  the  advent  of  Diaz,  still  existed.  A 
half  dozen  revolutions  were  started  against  Ma- 
dero during  the  first  two  years  of  his  term  by  other 
ambitious  leaders.  This  struggle  for  power,  and 
the  consequent  opportunity  of  robbing  both  public 
and  private  wealth,  resulted  in  the  unseating  of 
Madero  before  he  had  served  half  the  term  to 
which  he  had  been  elected,  and  the  assassination  of 
himself,  the  vice-president  and  a  number  of  his 
friends  and  supporters. 

Since  the  close  of  Madero's  brief  and  tragic 
career  the  fact  is  only  too  plainly  apparent  that  the 
unsettled  conditions,  with  all  their  attendant  evils, 
which  existed  previous  to  the  Diaz  period,  have 
returned  in  full  force.  In  the  eight  years  since 
Diaz  abandoned  his  office  and  his  country  Mexico 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          201 

has  had  nine  different  presidents  and  at  no  time 
has  all  her  territory  been  subject  to  the  National 
Government.1  At  the  present  time  its  control 
is  divided  among  a  number  of  contenders  for  power 
and  place,  and  the  Carranza  administration,  which 
holds  the  largest  area  of  the  national  territory, 
has  so  failed  to  impose  its  authority  upon  the 
whole,  that  a  few  months  ago  Mr.  Cabrera,  its 
leading  official  stated  on  the  floor  of  the  Mexican 
Congress  that  in  at  least  five  states,  Carranza  had 
no  control. 


PRESIDENTS  OF  MEXICO  FROM  DIAZ  TO  CARRANZA: 

1.  General  Porfirio  Diaz,  1873-1883;  i888-May  25,  1911. 

2.  Licentiate  Francisco  Leon  de  la  Barra,  May  25,  1911-  Nov. 
i,  1911. 

3.  Don  Francisco  I.  Madero  Nov.  i,  I9ii-Feb.  19,  1913. 

4.  Licentiate  Pedro  Lascurian,  7:01  p.m.  Feb.  19,  1913-7:46  p.  m. 
Feb.  19,  1913. 

5.  Gen.  Victoriano  Huerta,  Feb.  19,  1913-July  15,  1914. 

6.  Licentiate  Francisco  Carbajal  July   15,    I9i4-Aug.    13,    1914. 
(The  presidential  office  was  vacant  for  six  days  and  the  city  was  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Alvaro  Obregon.     From  Nov.  25,  1914  to  Dec. 
13,  1914  the  capital  was  occupied  by  the  Zapatistas.) 

7.  Gen.  Eulalio  Gutierrez  Dec.  i3-January  29,  1915.     He  acted 
as  executive  in  connection  with  the  presidency  of  the  convention  and 
in  charge  of  the  executive  power.     He  abandoned  Mexico  City. 

8.  Gen.  Roque   Gonzalez   Garza   president  of  the  revolutionary 
convention,  succeeded  as  acting  executive  Jan.  30,  191 5~May  30, 191 5. 

9.  Licentiate  Francisco  Lagos  Chazaro.     "The  sovereign  revolu- 
tionary convention"  decreed  Lagos  Chazaro  successor  to  Gonzalez 
Garza  and  he  took  possession  of  the  office  July  31,  1915  and  retained 
it  until  the  convention  was  dispersed  by  the  Constitutionalist  army 
in  October,  1915. 

10.  Venustiano  Carranza,  August  20,  1914  to  Nov.  24,  1914  First 
Chief  of  the  Constitutionalist  army  in  charge  of  the  executive  power. 
From  Nov.  24  he  abandoned  the  capital  and  removed  the  executive 
office  to  Vera  Cruz.    Elected  Constitutional  President  March  11, 
1917. 


202  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Mexican  finances  have  never  been  in  such  a  dis- 
organized condition,  nor  has  the  national  credit 
ever  been  so  utterly  destroyed.  For  five  years 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  pay  interest  upon 
any  financial  obligations.  The  nation's  industrial 
and  financial  institutions  have  been  so  completely 
wrecked  and  its  income  so  recklessly  and  dis- 
honestly administered,  that  during  the  last  year 
the  civilian  employees  of  the  government  have  been 
receiving  only  one  half  to  three  fourths  of  their 
nominal  pay  and  many  of  the  schools  have  been 
forced  to  close  their  doors  for  lack  of  funds  to  pay 
the  teachers'  salaries.  The  country,  whose  credit 
ten  years  ago  was  second  to  none,  to-day  cannot 
borrow  a  dollar  in  the  money  markets  of  the  world. 

At  no  period  have  the  laws  for  the  protection  of 
persons  and  property  been  so  poorly  enforced  as 
at  the  present  time.  Within  the  year,  the  news- 
papers of  the  capital  city  have  reported  that  the 
streets  were  not  safe  for  pedestrians  after  8  o'clock 
at  night,  as  numerous  robberies  were  being  com- 
mitted, many  of  them  by  soldiers  and  officers  in 
uniform.  Never  before  has  the  government  not 
only  permitted,  but  encouraged  and  participated 
in,  the  lawless  confiscation  of  private  property  to 
the  extent  that  has  characterized  the  course  of  the 
Carranza  administration.  Not  for  twenty-five 
years  has  employment  been  so  uncertain  and  wages 
so  low  as  at  the  present  time.  During  the  last 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          203 

five  years  many  thousands  have  died  from  starva- 
tion and  the  bad  sanitary  conditions  that  have  re- 
sulted from  the  poor  government,  or  lack  of  govern- 
ment, of  the  centres  of  population. 

So  numerous  and  so  great  are  the  accumulated 
evils  resulting  from  the  contests  for  power  and 
pelf,  which  various  leaders  have  waged  for  eight 
years,  that  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 
closing  years  of  the  first  century  of  Mexico's  ex- 
periment in  self-government  finds  the  masses  of  her 
people  more  hopelessly  wretched  than  they  have 
ever  been  during  that  long  period,  while  the  coun- 
try is  now  under  the  control  of  elements  which 
give  no  promise  of  future  betterment. 

The  contemplation  of  such  a  failure  of  a  people, 
during  nearly  one  hundred  years,  to  achieve  any 
real  progress  in  self-government,  suggests  that 
some  factor,  or  factors,  must  exist  which  have 
worked  with  uncontrollable  power  against  the 
good,  and  in  favour  of  the  bad.  The  cause  most 
often  cited  as  being  responsible  for  the  failure  of 
popular  government  in  Mexico,  and  especially  for 
the  wretched  condition  of  the  labouring  classes, 
comprising  80  per  cent,  of  the  population,  is  agra- 
rian, caused  by  the  holding  of  the  lands  in  great 
bodies  by  a  small  number  of  persons  and  the  denial 
to  the  masses  of  the  opportunity  to  secure  an 
interest  in  the  land.  Promises  to  amend  this 
condition  have  been  made  by  almost  every  one  of 


204  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

the  more  than  a  hundred  leaders  who  have,  in 
less  than  that  number  of  years,  begun  important, 
and  most  often  successful,  attempts  at  revolu- 
tion. 

During  the  contest  for  Mexican  independence 
the  patriot  leader  Morelos  recognized  the  need  of 
a  wider  distribution  of  the  land  and  made  some 
attempt,  in  1815,  to  allot  holdings  to  the  peons  in 
that  part  of  the  country  which  the  forces  under  his 
command  controlled.  But,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  almost  every  revolutionary  leader  who 
has  succeeded  in  securing  a  following  sufficient  to 
unseat  his  predecessor  and  place  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  government,  has  announced,  as  a  part 
of  the  "plan"  upon  which  he  founded  his  rev- 
olution, a  determination  to  make  provision  for 
a  broader  distribution  of  lands  to  the  common 
people,  no  successful  and  lasting  effort  has  been 
made  to  accomplish  this  desirable  end.  All 
changes  in  land  holding  have  been  temporary  and 
no  continuing  good  has  been  accomplished.  This 
would  appear  to  indicate  that  no  permanent  relief 
of  agrarian  troubles  can  be  obtained  by  dividing 
the  land  among  a  labouring  class  without  educa- 
tion or  means,  which  has  for  centuries  been  ac- 
customed to  working  as  employees  of  the  property- 
owning  class,  with  no  experience  in  the  control  of 
its  own  labour  in  independent  industry,  and  to  sug- 
gest that  some  other  and  more  deeply  seated  cause 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          205 

is  responsible  for  Mexico's  utter  failure  in  her  at- 
tempt at  self-government. 

A  somewhat  extensive  study  of  the  history  of 
Mexico  has  impressed  me  with  the  conviction  that 
the  basis  of  all  her  trouble  is  racial.  Mexico  is 
inhabited  by  two  distinct  races:  one  the  descen- 
dants of  the  aborigines  comprising  probably  80 
per  cent,  of  her  total  population,  who  furnish  prac- 
tically all  the  common  labour  of  the  country — the 
"hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water" — usually 
denominated  "peons,"  and  who,  as  a  class,  are 
uneducated  and  non-property-holding.  The  other 
20  per  cent,  of  the  population  are  the  descendants 
of  the  Latin  conquerors  who,  beginning  by  monopo- 
lizing all  of  the  landed  and  other  wealth  of  the 
country,  and  possessing  all  of  its  educated  intel- 
ligence, have  continued  to  hold  that  position  of 
advantage,  which  has  made  them  the  governing 
race  and  conferred  upon  them,  and  made  them  re- 
sponsible for,  the  control  of  the  uneducated  and 
non-property-holding  80  per  cent. 

The  20  per  cent,  of  the  Latin-Mexican  popula- 
tion, includes  the  half-breeds  or  "mestizos/*  va- 
riously estimated  as  constituting  a  fourth  to  a  third 
of  the  Latin  element. 

A  democracy,  in  order  to  be  successful,  must  rep- 
resent the  will  of  the  majority.  No  people  can 
effectively  participate  in  government  unless  they 
are  endowed  with  a  cultivated  intelligence  en- 


2o6          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

abling  them  to  arrive  at  informed  opinions.  In 
order  that  participation  of  the  majority  in  the 
government  of  a  democracy  may  be  effective,  the 
masses  must  be  educated.  In  the  last  analysis, 
the  chance  that  Mexico  will  ever  have  a  govern- 
ment that  will  insure  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  its  citizens  depends  upon  the  capacity  of  the 
majority  of  its  people,  and  that  means  the  great 
peon  class,  to  receive  and  profit  by  education. 
Any  successful  effort  to  arrive  at  a  correct  judg- 
ment upon  the  causes  of  Mexico's  failure  in  self- 
government,  and  of  the  possibility  of  her  achieving 
successful  government  in  the  future  must,  there- 
fore, involve  a  study  of  the  two  races  which  com- 
pose her  population. 

First,  the  investigator  must  appraise  the  char- 
acter of  the  minority,  or  Latin,  race  which,  by 
virtue  of  its  practical  monopoly  of  property  and 
educated  intelligence,  has  given  Mexico  its  govern- 
ment in  the  past,  and  this  involves  a  study  of  the 
history,  development  and  moral  character  of  that 
race  as  it  exists  at  present. 

Second,  the  investigator  must  study  the  history 
of  the  peon  or  native  Indian  races  which  compose 
the  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  and  appraise 
their  character  and  capacity  for  profiting  by  the 
opportunity  for  intellectual  improvement  which  a 
chance  for  popular  education  may  offer. 

Inasmuch  as  the  Latin  race  is  the  one  now  in 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          207 

power,  and  the  race  which  has  been,  and  will 
continue  to  be  responsible  for  its  government  until 
the  majority  of  its  citizenship  is  elevated  intel- 
lectually and  morally  by  a  widely  diffused  op- 
portunity for  education,  it  would  appear  logical 
to  consider  the  history  and  character  of  that  race 
first. 

THE  LATIN-MEXICAN 

The  Latin  element  was,  of  course,  introduced  by 
Cortez  when  he  conquered  Mexico  and  established 
over  it  the  government  of  Spain.  As  soon  as  the 
conquest  was  completed,  the  lands  were  divided 
among  the  Spanish  conquerors,  thus  establishing 
the  holding  in  large  tracts,  by  a  few  owners,  of  the 
national  domain.  A  history  of  the  occupation  of 
Mexico  by  the  Spaniards  says: 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  Indians  formed  the  great  bulk 
of  the  Hispano-American  population,  the  king,  of 
course,  soon  after  the  discovery,  directed  his  atten- 
tion to  their  capabilities  for  labour.  By  a  system 
of  repartimientos  they  were  divided  among  the 
conquerors  and  made  vassals  of  the  land  holders. 
The  capitation  tax  levied  on  every  Indian  varied 
in  different  parts  of  Spanish  America  from 
four  to  fifteen  dollars,  according  to  the  ability  of 
the  Indians.  They  were  doomed  to  labour  on  the 
public  works  as  well  as  to  cultivate  the  soil  for  the 
general  benefit  of  the  country,  while  by  the  im- 
position of  the  mita  they  were  forced  to  toil  in  the 
mines  under  a  rigorous  and  debasing  system.  Toil 


208  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

and  suffering  were  the  conditions  of  the  Indians  in 
Mexico  after  the  conquest  and  it  might  have  been 
supposed  that  the  plain  dictates  of  humanity  would 
make  the  Spaniards  content  with  the  labour  of 
their  serfs  without  attempting  afterwards  to  rob 
them  of  the  wages  of  such  ignominious  labour. 
But  even  in  this,  Spanish  ingenuity  and  avarice 
were  not  to  be  foiled,  for  the  corregidores  in  the 
towns  and  villages  to  whom  were  granted  minor 
monopolies  of  almost  all  the  necessities  of  life  made 
this  a  pretext  for  obliging  the  Indians  to  purchase 
what  they  required  at  the  prices  they  chose  to  affix 
to  their  goods.  The  people  groaned  but  paid  the 
burdensome  exaction  while  the  relentless  officer, 
hardened  by  the  contemplation  of  misery  and  the 
constant  contemplation  of  legalized  robbery,  only 
became  more  watchful,  sagacious,  and  grinding  in 
practice  as  he  discovered  how  much  the  down- 
trodden masses  could  bear.  There  was  no  press 
of  public  opinion  to  give  voice  to  the  sorrows  of  the 
masses  and  personal  fear  even  silenced  the  few  who 
might  have  reached  the  ear  of  merciful  and  just 
rulers.  At  court  the  rich,  powerful,  and  influential 
miners  or  land  owners  always  discovered  pliant 
tools  who  were  ready  by  intrigue  and  corruption  to 
smother  the  cry  of  discontent  or  to  account  plausi- 
bly for  the  murmurs  which  upon  extraordinary 
occasions  burst  through  all  restraint  until  they 
reached  the  audiencia  or  the  sovereign." 1 

If,  as  has  been  generally  agreed  by  sociologists, 
the  sure  revenge  of  the  servile  class  is  found  in  the 

1  "History  of  Nations,"  Vol.  22,  page  104. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          209 

corruption  of  the  master  class,  certainly  no  condi- 
tion has  ever  existed  better  calculated  to  destroy 
the  moral  fiber  of  a  race  than  the  condition  of  the 
Latin  element  in  Mexico's  population,  during  the 
three  centuries  between  the  Spanish  conquest  and 
attainment  of  natural  independence.  It  should  be 
understood  that  in  what  is  said  concerning  the 
character  of  the  Latin-Mexicans,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  that  race  is  referred  to.  I  know  Latin- 
Mexicans  who  are  men  of  ability  and  the  highest 
probity  and  whom  I  am  glad  to  call  friends.  But 
they  are  in  a  sad  minority,  and  the  very  fact  that 
they  are  honest  men  prevents  their  taking  part  in 
the  activities  of  the  party  of  robbers  and  violators 
of  international  law  and  diplomatic  pledges,  which 
now  control  the  destinies  of  their  country.  Fur- 
thermore, the  qualities  of  character  which  make 
them  admirable  have,  in  most  instances,  caused 
their  banishment. 

Occasionally  the  Latin  race  has  produced  a 
popular  leader  of  the  highest  character  and  most 
devoted  patriotism.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 
honesty  and  the  single-minded  devotion  to  the 
public  good  of  a  leader  like  Hidalgo  but  unfor- 
tunately he  represents  the  exception;  the  rule  has 
been  found  in  such  conscienceless  demagogues  as 
Santa  Anna,  Paredes,  and  Carranza,  and  the  al- 
most numberless  leaders  who  have  not  hesitated  to 
plunge  the  masses  of  the  people  into  the  profound- 


210  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

est  misfortunes  in  order  to  gratify  the  selfish  am- 
bition and  greed  of  themselves  and  their  followers. 
It  is  worth  while  to  remember  that,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  every  revolution  in  Mexico  has  been 
led  by  some  representative  of  the  Latin  popula- 
tion and  the  members  of  that  race  have,  on  account 
of  their  virtual  monopoly  of  the  property  and  the 
educated  intelligence  of  the  country,  always  con- 
stituted the  great  majority  of  its  governing  ele- 
ment. Even  during  the  war  for  freedom,  the 
character  of  this  element  was  illustrated  by  an 
incident  which  occurred  in  the  fourth  year  of  that 
contest.  After  Morelos  had  succeeded  Hidalgo 
as  the  leader  of  the  revolutionary  forces,  in  an 
effort  to  establish  some  form  of  regular  government 
he  summoned  a  national  congress  which  he  in- 
tended to  be  "a  source  of  union  to  which  his 
lieutenants  might  look  as  to  himself  in  case  of  ac- 
cident." This  congress  was  necessarily  movable 
because  it  had  to  follow  the  patriot  army.  It  was 
not  only  dependent  upon  the  revolutionary  forces 
for  protection  but  also  for  sustenance,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  enabled  to  exist  only  by  revenue  secured 
by  the  armed  forces.  Shortly  after  the  capture 
of  Morelos  by  the  Spanish  forces,  and  Don  Manuel 
Teran  had  succeeded  him  in  command  the  con- 
gress enacted  laws  appropriating  eight  thousand 
dollars  a  year  as  a  salary  for  each  of  its  members 
and  taking  the  management  of  the  public  funds 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          211 

from  the  military  commander  and  placing  them  in 
the  hands  of  its  own  officials;  thus  making  the  com- 
manding general,  to  whom  congress  owed  not  only 
its  protection,  but  its  very  livelihood,  a  mere  de- 
pendent upon  its  authority.  The  congress  was 
promptly  dissolved  by  General  Teran  who  said: 
"That  instead  of  attending  to  the  interests  of  the 
people  its  members  were  occupied  in  taking  care  of 
themselves  and  calling  each  other  excellentisimos."1 
The  same  historian,  in  describing  Mexico's  eleven 
years'  struggle  for  freedom,  is  compelled  to  note 
the  evil  results  to  the  patriots'  cause  of  the  selfish 
ambitions  of  individual  leaders  and  he  says,  in 
speaking  of  the  condition  of  the  revolution  in  1817, 
the  sixth  year  of  its  existence: 


"There  was  no  longer  among  the  insurgents  any 
directing  power  to  which  the  various  chiefs  would 
bow;  each  was  absolute  over  his  own  followers  and 
would  brook  no  interference  on  the  part  of  another 
leader;  a  combination  of  movements  among  them 
was  rendered  impossible  by  mutual  jealousies  and 
mistrust.  Under  these  circumstances  rule  became 
a  series  of  contests  between  the  local  authorities 
and  hordes  of  banditti;  and  the  wealthy  and  in- 
telligent part  of  the  population  began  to  look  to  the 
standard  of  Spain  as  the  symbol  of  order." 2 

^'Mexico  and  Her  Military  Chieftains;"  Robinson,  pages  57:  220. 
2"Mexico  and  Her  Military  Chieftains;"  Robinson,  page  74. 


212  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

That  the  character  of  the  Latin  leadership  did 
not  improve  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  within  less 
than  two  years  after  Mexico  became  independent, 
the  leader  who  had  contributed  most  to  that  re- 
sult, General  Iturbide,  attempted  to  destroy  all 
elements  of  democracy  in  the  government  and,  for 
a  short  period,  made  himself  emperor.  Upon  his 
removal  by  a  revolutionary  movement,  still  headed 
by  the  Latin  element,  General  Victoria  was  made 
President.  Of  the  administration  of  the  first 
regularly  installed  head  of  the  Mexican  govern- 
ment as  a  democracy,  the  historian  says : 

"During  the  administration  of  Guadalupe 
Victoria  little  was  done  to  bring  Mexico  to  that 
state  of  quiet  and  security  so  indispensable  for  the 
happiness  and  advancement  of  a  country.  The 
finances  were  badly  administered  and  peculation 
was  openly  practiced  in  every  direction."1 

We  have  seen  how  one  revolutionary  leader 
after  another  achieved  power  and  was  in  his  turn 
displaced  by  a  succeeding  revolution,  so  that  a 
historian  writing  of  the  condition  of  the  country 
a  few  years  after  it  had  achieved  its  independence 
said: 

"We  have  now  to  trace  a  sad  descent.  We  are 
to  see  the  people  gradually  becoming  corrupt,  until 


^'Mexico  and  Her  Military  Chieftains;"  Robinson,  page  144. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          213 

they  appear  almost  to  lose  the  faculty  of  distin- 
guishing right  and  wrong.  We  are  to  watch  the 
course  of  its  principal  men,  see  them  become  grad- 
ually more  depraved  and  cease  at  last  even  to  pre- 
tend to  virtue.  We  shall  see  the  treasury  looked 
upon  as  spoils  and  proclaimed  as  an  inducement  to 
win  partisans." l 

Another  historical  writer,  in  an  effort  to  explain 
the  action  of  Iturbide  in  endeavouring  to  establish 
a  royalist  government  in  Mexico,  says: 

"  It  is  probable  that  his  penetrating  mind  distin- 
guished between  popular  hatred  of  unjust  restraint 
and  the  genuine  capacity  of  a  nation  for  liberty, 
nor  is  it  unlikely  that  he  found  among  his  country- 
men but  few  of  those  self-controlling,  self-sacrific- 
ing and  progressive  elements  which  constitute  the 
only  foundation  upon  which  a  republic  can  be 
securely  founded/' 2 

The  thought  most  strongly  impressed  upon  the 
mind  of  any  student  of  Mexico's  efforts  at  self- 
government  is  that,  while  its  leaders  have  pro- 
duced declarations  of  principles,  or  "plans"  as 
they  are  called  in  revolutionary  phraseology,  which 
proclaimed  in  the  most  fervent  language,  unquali- 
fied devotion  to  the  national  welfare,  the  word 
"patriotism,"  as  used  by  them,  does  not  connote 

^'Mexico  and  Her  Military  Chieftains;"  Robinson,  page  150. 
'"History  of  Nations,"  Vol.  22,  page  255. 


214          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

that  capacity  for  self-sacrifice,  for  sinking  of  all 
selfish  interest,  and  devotion  to  the  public  good 
that  it  means  when  used  on  this  side  of  the  Rio 
Grande.  In  short,  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that 
nowhere  in  the  world  has  Doctor  Johnson's  famous 
definition  of  patriotism  as  "the  last  refuge  of  a 
scoundrel"  been  so  fully  realized  as  among  the 
Latin-Mexican  governing  class. 

The  French  sociologist,  Gustave  le  Bon,  as  the 
result  of  his  study  of  the  influence  of  the  Latin 
element  on  government  in  the  Americas,  says; 

"In  general  and  fundamentally  the  political 
problem  of  the  Latin-American  democracies  is  the 
problem  of  public  thieving." 

This  expression,  as  applied  to  all  Latin- American 
republics,  may  be  too  broad,  but  it  certainly  does 
no  injustice  to  the  record  made  by  the  Latin  ele- 
ment in  Mexico. 

An  educated  and  public-spirited  Latin-Mexican, 
Francisco  Bulnes,  who  for  many  years  was  promi- 
nent in  the  political,  industrial,  and  literary  life  of 
his  country  as  a  member  of  its  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  a  civil  and  mining  engineer  j 
the  head  of  various  civic  commissions,  an  editor  of 
important  periodicals  and  a  profound  student  of 
Mexican  affairs,  has  recently  published  a  book 
entitled,  "The  Whole  Truth  about  Mexico." 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          215 

While  this  book  reflects  the  bitterness  of  feeling, 
disgust  and  despair  that  may  be  natural  in  a 
patriot  witnessing  the  frightful  ruin  wrought  by 
the  evil  ambitions  of  some  popular  leaders  and, 
therefore,  may  appear  extreme  in  some  of  its  state- 
ments, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  intelligence 
and  opportunity  for  knowledge  which  its  author 
possessed  make  him  an  authority  upon  conditions 
in  Mexico  and  give  special  value  to  his  appraisal 
of  the  human  element  as  it  is  reflected  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  that  unhappy  country.  Bulnes,  in 
explaining  the  causes  which  have  led  to  Mexico's 
utter  failure  in  self-government,  says: 

"  Unfortunately,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  ideal  of  the 
middle-class  family  is  to  be  part  of  this  bureaucracy 
and  that  the  ideal  of  the  bureaucracy  is  to  rob  the 
union  and  individuals  whenever  possible.  The 
mother  is  no  longer  the  just  matron  who  shed  the 
radiance  of  her  virtue  over  the  home  and  reared 
men  for  God,  country  and  humanity.  In  these 
days  there  are  mothers  who  urge  their  husbands, 
sons,  sons-in-law,  and  brothers  to  steal  from  their 
country.  Sons  are  reared  with  this  idea  and  it  is 
carried  to  the  point  of  inculcating  that  this  public 
theft  is  a  legitimate  necessity,  that  it  is  an  art,  a 
sign  of  distinction.  The  result  of  this  schooling  in 
depravity  has  been  that  the  lower  classes  have  had 
this  baneful  example  before  their  eyes  for  many 
years,  which  has  destroyed  the  slender  thread  of 
civic  virtue  possessed  by  them  at  the  time  of  the 
declaration  of  independence.  It  also  threatens  to 


216  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

destroy  all  personal  virtue,  because  it  goes  without 
saying  that  a  home  which  is  a  den  of  thieves  cannot 
be  the  nursery  of  virtue  and  morality/' 

And  again,  in  describing  the  spirit  of  public 
plunder  which  has  actuated  what  the  author 
refers  to  as  the  bureaucratic  element,  composed 
of  those  who  serve  their  country  in  official  posi- 
tions, he  says: 

"  In  all  the  homes  of  bureaucrats,  mothers,  aunts, 
wives,  sons  and  daughters,  servants  and  friends  ad- 
vised the  head  of  the  house  to  'do  business'  with  the 
government;  if  they  were  employed,  even  more  so. 
'Doing  business*  with  the  government  meant,  of 
course,  stealing.  They  were  advised  to  take  every- 
thing on  contract,  from  laying  fifty  thousand  kilo- 
meters of  railroad  to  removing  the  trash  from 
public  office,  all  to  be  manipulated  so  as  to  redound 
to  the  personal  benefit  of  the  contractor.  If  it  was 
not  possible  to  obtain  contracts,  the  judges  ought  to 
steal  sentences;  the  court  secretaries  the  papers 
bearing  on  the  case;  the  clerks,  the  public  trust; 
the  chiefs  of  departments,  the  office  furniture,  the 
hospital  supplies,  the  prison  food,  the  arms  and  am- 
munition of  arsenals;  they  should  rob  the  troops  of 
their  pay;  impose  fines  upon  all;  steal  justice  under 
any  form;  steal  wholesale  and  retail;  steal  even 
the  ink  stands,  pencils,  paper,  typewriters,  and 
typewriter  ribbons, — in  a  word,  everything  that 
could  be  taken  ought  to  be  taken,  however  low  and 

^The  Whole  Truth  about  Mexico;"  Bulnes,  page  27. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          217 

unethical  the  means  employed  to  accomplish  it 
might  be.  *  *  *  The  passion  for  stealing  was 
so  ingrained  that  it  became  the  Jife  and  soul,  the 
warm,  coursing  blood,  the  master  passion  of  the 
nation/' 


This  dark  picture  would  appear  incredible  if 
we  did  not  find  it  repeated  by  various  authorities 
and  if  we  did  not  see  it  being  reenacted  with  its 
darkest  shades  accentuated  by  the  looting  that 
characterizes  the  government  which  has  been 
recognized  by  the  United  States.  The  story  of 
Carranza  has  been  written  from  day  to  day  in  the 
columns  of  Mexican  newspapers,  in  the  discussions 
in  congress,  in  the  operation  of  public  utilities, 
such  as  the  national  railroads,  where  plunder, 
rather  than  public  service,  have  been  the  end 
achieved  by  public  officials.  It  must  be  always 
borne  in  mind  that  when  the  government  of  Mexico 
has  been  mentioned,  government  by  the  Latin 
minority  race  is  always  referred  to.  The  bureau- 
crats denounced  by  Bulnes,  the  army  paymasters 
who  have  robbed  their  pay  chests,  the  railroad 
superintendents  who  have  demanded  bribes  for 
transporting  merchandise,  the  army  officers  who 
have  been  found  selling  the  munitions  placed  in 
their  hands  by  the  national  government  to  the 


l"The  Whole  Truth  about  Mexico;"  Bulnes,  page  149. 


218  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

various  bandit  forces,  are  nearly  all  members  of 
the  governing  Latin  element. 

All  this  constitutes  a  discouraging  picture  which 
would  be  without  a  ray  of  hope  for  the  future  if  we 
could  not  discover  in  the  80  per  cent,  of  the  Mexi- 
can people  who  are  descendants  of  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants,  some  qualities  which,  if  encouraged 
and  developed,  might  promise  to  furnish  that  moral 
element  which,  so  far,  has  been  conspicuously 
lacking  in  the  great  majority  of  the  Latin 
population  and  which  must  be  brought  out  if 
popular  government  is  ever  to  be  made  successful. 
So  the  investigator  must  turn  to  the  peon  ele- 
ment. 

THE  NATIVE  MEXICAN 

When  Cortez  conquered  Mexico,  it  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  number  of  distinct  families,  or  tribes, 
so  that  the  learned  Mexican,  Orozco  y  Barra  says 
there  were  eleven  distinct  language  families,  com- 
prising thirty-five  idioms  and  eighty-five  dialects. 
The  most  important  of  these  tribes  or  families  were 
the  Aztecs  and  probably  next  in  importance  the 
Tezcocans. 

The  Aztecs,  while  not  in  complete  control  of  the 
area  which  now  composes  Mexico,  were  the  domi- 
nant power  of  the  table-land  and  had  their  great 
capital  city  in  its  central  valley.  As  nearly  as  can 
be  learned,  they  occupied  the  country  in  A.  D. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          219 

1325  and  were,  previous  to  that  time,  nomadic  in 
their  habits. 

The  Tezcocans  occupied  a  portion  of  the  great 
central  valley  and  appear  to  have  marched  with 
the  Aztecs  in  their  development  of  civilization. 
The  descendants  of  both  the  Aztecs  and  Tezco- 
cans, together  with  those  of  all  other  native  popu- 
lations, have  come  to  be  referred  to  as  Indians  or 
peons,  and  have,  since  the  Spanish  occupancy, 
constituted  the  common  labourers  of  the  country. 
These  two  great  races  had  proved  their  native 
intellectual  power  by  developing  a  civilization  be- 
tween 1325  and  1519,  when  the  Spaniards  under 
Cortez  first  introduced  them  to  the  old  world,  of 
which  Prof.  Thomas  Wilson,  the  ethnologist,  says : 

"  The  culture  of  the  aborigines  occupying  Mexico 
and  Central  America  was  of  a  totally  different 
character  from  that  of  the  other  aborigines  of  North 
America.  They  were  sedentary,  agricultural,  re- 
ligious, and  highly  ceremonious;  they  built  them- 
selves monuments  of  most  enduring  character,  the 
outside  of  the  stone  walls  of  some  of  which  were 
decorated  in  a  high  order  of  art,  resembling  more 
the  great  Certosa  of  Pavia  than  any  other  monu- 
ments in  Europe.  The  mounds  for  ceremony  or  sac- 
rifice were  immense.  The  manufacture  and  use  of 
stone  images  and  idols  was  extensive  and  surprising 
to  the  last  degree.  The  working  of  jade  and  the  ex- 
tensive use  thereof  surpasses  that  of  any  other 
locality  in  prehistoric  times.  Their  pottery  excites 


220  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

our  wonder  and  admiration;  some  specimens  for 
their  beauty,  their  elegance  of  form,  and  fineness  of 
decoration;  other  specimens  of  idols  or  images  are 
astonishing  on  account  of  the  precision  of  their 
manufacture  and  the  difficulty  of  its  accomplish- 
ment by  hand."1 

The  material  progress  of  the  aborigines  was 
shown  not  only  by  their  architecture  and  manu- 
facturing, but  by  the  extent  to  which  they  had 
developed  horticulture  and  agriculture,  as  wit- 
nessed by  the  descriptions  of  the  exquisite  pleasure 
gardens  and  parks  surrounding  the  residences  of 
the  kings  of  the  country  and  their  nobles. 

Prescott  describes  with  much  enthusiasm  the 
system  of  laws  which  these  people  had  established 
and  the  judiciary  they  had  organized  for  enforcing 
them.  And  when  Prescott,  writing  of  the  crime 
of  larceny,  says:  "Yet  the  Mexicans  could  have 
been  under  no  great  apprehension  of  this  crime, 
since  the  entrances  to  their  dwellings  were  not 
secured  by  bolts  or  fastenings  of  any  kind,"  he 
mentioned  the  quality  which  differentiated  the 
native  Mexican  from  the  descendants  of  the  con- 
quering Latin  race  more  clearly  than  does  any 
other  racial  characteristic. 

They  had  created  a  highly  developed  machinery 
of  government,  with  systems  of  public  revenue,  of 

1  "History  of  Nations,"  Vol.  22,  page  80. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          221 

1  •••*•*  •    ^' 
military  and  civil  service,  and  had  developed  a 

method  of  recording,  in  permanent  form,  not  only 
the  history  of  their  country,  but  the  daily  trans- 
actions of  business  and  government. 

The  work  of  their  artisans  in  metal  was  described 
by  their  Spanish  conquerors  as  exquisite  in  its 
artistic  perfection  and  the  few  examples  of  it  still 
remaining  in  European  museums  bear  out  the 
truth  of  this  description. 

The  intellectual  advance  of  the  people  is  well 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  their  astronomical 
researches  and  development  of  the  science  of 
mathematics  had  enabled  them  to  devise  a  calendar 
more  accurate  than  that  which  Imperial  Rome 
possessed  in  its  proudest  days. 

While  most  of  the  literature  which  the  native 
races  had  placed  in  permanent  form  was  destroyed 
through  the  narrow  superstition  of  their  Spanish 
conquerors,  a  few  examples  have  been  preserved 
which  indicate  not  only  a  high  degree  of  mental 
refinement  but  a  very  elevated  code  of  morals. 

Any  one  who  has  read  the  translation  of  the 
poem  of  a  Tezcocan  king,  and  the  letter  of  advice 
of  an  Aztec  mother  to  her  daughter,  contained  in 
the  appendix  of  Prescott's  "Conquest  of  Mexico," 
must  have  a  high  idea  of  the  intellectual  and  moral 
qualities  of  a  people  capable  of  producing  such 
expressions  of  elevated  thought.  And  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  doubt  that  the  civilization  of  the 


222  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

Aztecs  and  Tezcocans  had  spread  until  it  existed 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree  throughout  all  the  coun- 
try which  we  now  know  as  Mexico. 

That  people  of  the  character  of  the  native  races 
of  Mexico  as  described  by  historians  should  now  be 
represented  after  four  hundred  years  by  those  whom 
travellers  know  as  the  ignorant  and  often  brutalized 
peons,  would  seem  incredible  were  it  not  that  the 
world  has  had  such  terrible  and  pitiful  examples  of 
the  power  of  injustice,  wrong,  and  oppression  to 
produce  racial  disintegration  and  degradation. 

It  is  an  historical  fact  known  to  students  of 
sociology  that  the  servitude  most  destructive  of  the 
physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  qualities  of  its 
victims  is  economic  and  industrial  rather  than 
chattel.  It  has  been  often  said  that  the  chattel 
slave  finds  protection  in  the  fact  that  he  stands  as 
the  representative  of  a  certain  amount  of  property 
or  wealth  to  his  master,  while  the  economic  slave 
represents  to  his  employer,  if  he  be  unrestrained  by 
the  prickings  of  conscience,  only  the  labour  that  can 
be  obtained  from  him.  As  illustrating  this,  it  may 
be  said  that  probably  no  owner  of  chattel  slaves 
ever  treated  them  so  harshly  as  some  mill  owners 
of  England  who  chained  children  to  spinning  and 
weaving  machines,  so  that  they  could  not  flee  from 
the  torment  of  their  occupation,  before  England 
became  wise  enough  to  protect  her  people  from 
such  conscienceless  exploitation. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          223 

Prescott  has  made  sympathetic  note  of  the  ef- 
fect of  the  tyranny  of  the  conquering  race  upon  the 
native  races  of  Mexico.  He  says: 

"Those  familiar  with  the  modern  Mexican  will 
find  it  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  nation  should 
ever  have  been  capable  of  devising  the  enlightened 
polity  which  we  have  been  considering.  But  they 
should  remember  that  in  the  Mexicans  of  our  day 
do  they  see  only  a  conquered  race  as  different  from 
their  ancestors  as  are  the  modern  Egyptians  from 
those  who  built, — I  will  not  say  the  tasteless  pyra- 
mids,— but  the  temples  and  palaces  whose  magnifi- 
cent wrecks  strew  the  borders  of  the  Nile  at  Luxor 
and  Karnak."1 

The  account  of  the  industrial  slavery  of  the 
aboriginal  Mexicans  contained  in  the  historical 
quotation  appearing  in  part  first  of  this  chapter 
goes  very  far  toward  explaining  their  racial  degra- 
dation. 

That  the  account  quoted  of  the  treatment  of  the 
aboriginal  Mexican  population  by  their  Latin  mas- 
ters is  no  different  from  that  which  would  be  found 
in  any  honestly  written  history  of  Mexico,  and  that 
the  conditions  described  have  continued  since  the 
end  of  Spanish  control  to  the  present  time,  is  shown 
by  the  following,  taken  from  Mr.  Bulnes's  book: 

"The  planters  have  been  accused  of  treating 
their  Indian  servants  with  haughtiness  and  disdain. 

^_  ^'Conquest  of  Mexico";  Prescott,  Book  I,  Chapter  II. 


224  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

It  is  true,  but  what  the  accusers  conceal  is  that  the 
bureaucrats,  political  and  non-political,  have  ever 
accorded  the  same  treatment  to  the  Indian.  It  is 
only  the  demagogues  who  Ipve,  venerate,  exalt,  and 
protect  them  in  their  harangues,  when  they  think 
it  will  help  to  secure  their  votes  or  obtain  universal 
applause,  bringing  them  favourably  before  the  pub- 
lic and  making  them  feared  by  the  government. 
Even  the  most  ragged,  unwashed,  vicious  loafer  of 
the  cities  assumes  an  air  of  superiority  and  the  tone 
of  a  potentate  toward  the  unfortunate  Indian. 
The  best  proof  that  all  Mexico  looks  upon  the 
Indian  as  an  inferior,  is  that  every  one  addresses 
him  in  the  familiar  form  of  'tu'  (which  expresses 
confidence  and  affection  when  addressed  to  an 
equal,  but  condescension  when  directed  toward  an 
inferior),  and  that  every  one  orders  him  about  as 
though  he  were  a  slave.  This  attitude  of  imagi- 
nary superiority  is  not  found  exclusively  among  the 
Mexican  Creoles  and  mestizos,  but  in  every  part  of 
Latin  America  where  there  are  domesticated  In- 
dians. We  do  not  have  to  go  further  back  than 
forty  years  to  find  the  time  when  the  population 
was  divided  into  'genie  de  ratfn'  (rational  beings) 
and  Indians;  and  at  the  present  time  the  popula- 
tion of  mestizos  is  designated  'genie  de  ratfn',  in 
contradistinction  to  the  Indians."1 

Most  interesting  and  enlightening  evidence  of 
the  way  in  which  the  so-called  democratic  govern- 
ment of  Mexico,  as  controlled  by  the  Latin  element 
representing  the  employing  interests,  has  exploited 

'"The  Whole  Truth  About  Mexico";  Bulnes,  page  74. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          225 

the  peon  population  by  legislation  is  shown  in  its 
dealing  with  what  was  known  as  the  Ejidos  lands. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  Latin  in  Mexico  and 
since,  many  of  the  labouring  class  lived  in  small 
settlements  or  villages.  To  these  villages,  from 
Aztec  times,  appertained  certain  areas  known  as 
Ejidos  lands,  which  were  the  common  property  of 
all.  Upon  these  village  commons  the  peon  could 
have  a  garden,  or  maintain  a  few  goats  or  fowls. 
This  small  opportunity  of  contributing  to  the 
family  livelihood  relieved  him  from  absolute  eco- 
nomic dependence  upon  the  employer  upon  whose 
great  estate  he  worked. 

Some  years  ago  a  law  was  passed  by  the  Mexican 
Congress  under  the  provisions  of  which  the  com- 
mon lands,  the  use  of  which  the  villages  of  peon 
labourers  had  enjoyed  for  hundreds  of  years,  were 
sold  and  became  the  property  of  the  employing 
class.  Thus  was  destroyed  by  act  of  the  national 
government  the  last  refuge  which  the  peon  had 
from  absolute  economic  exploitation  by  the  em- 
ploying class. 

But  hope  can  be  found  for  the  future  of  the 
masses  under  the  stimulus  of  proper  opportunity 
for  intellectual  development  in  the  fact  that 
through  the  darkest  experience  of  their  night  of 
servitude  and  degradation,  individual  members  of 
the  race  have  shown  more  than  ordinary  ability. 
An  instance  of  this  is  found  in  the  historical  work 


226  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

of  Ixtlilxochitl,  often  referred  to  and  quoted  by 
Prescott.  This  historian,  who  had  produced  a 
most  interesting  and  authoritative  account  of  his 
people,  was  a  descendant  of  the  royal  family  that 
furnished  the  kings  of  Tezcoco. 

The  fact  that  Mexico's  most  talented  painter 
was  a  pure-blooded  Aztec,  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  race  has  not  lost  the  capacity  for  artistry 
as  expressed  in  some  of  their  creations  which  ap- 
pealed so  strongly  to  the  admiration  of  their  Spanish 
conquerors. 

I  was  much  interested  in  an  account  by  Mr.  E. 
L.  Doheny,  who  first  discovered  and  developed 
Mexico's  great  petroleum  deposits,  of  his  expe- 
riences with  the  common  labourer.  Mr.  Doheny, 
being  a  man  of  warm  humanitarian  impulses,  de- 
cided that  it  was  his  duty  so  to  manage  his  Mexican 
enterprises  that  they  should  contribute  as  much  as 
possible  to  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  the  com- 
mon people.  As  one  means  to  that  end,  shortly 
after  he  first  began  work  in  the  oil  fields  nearly  a 
score  of  years  ago,  he  secured  numbers  of  peon 
boys  who  were  given  a  careful  apprenticeship  in 
the  mechanical  department.  He  assured  me,  with 
warm  expressions  of  gratification,  that  these  boys 
developed  into  mechanics  of  the  highest  order,  so 
that  he  was  finally  able  to  entrust  to  them  import- 
ant mechanical  work  of  his  great  plants,  some  of 
which  required  a  very  high  type  of  skill. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          227 

The  most  brilliant  and  interesting  example  of 
what  the  native  Mexican  can  do  when  he  has  an 
opportunity  for  mental  development  is  afforded 
by  Juarez,  a  pure-blooded  descendant  of  aboriginal 
ancestors,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  who  in  the  course 
of  his  career  demonstrated  himself  to  be  a  leader 
of  great  ability  and  a  true  patriot. 

Almost  without  exception,  foreigners  who  have 
had  years  of  experience  in  employing  Mexican 
labour  have  testified  to  the  moral  character,  the 
loyalty  to  his  employer,  and  fidelity  to  his  duties, 
exhibited  by  the  peon  when  he  has  not  been 
corrupted  by  the  evil  influences  of  the  Latin, 
element. 

As  the  result  of  careful  investigation  and  obser- 
vation, I  hope  and  believe  that  if  the  descendants 
of  the  aboriginal  Indians  of  Mexico  should  ever 
have  accorded  to  them  a  full  and  free  opportunity 
for  intellectual  and  moral  improvement,  they  may 
be  made  an  element  in  the  citizenship  upon  which 
a  successful  democracy  may  be  founded;  but  I  am 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that,  so  long  as  the  Latin 
element  is  in  power,  this  opportunity  will  never  be 
conceded  to  the  majority  race. 

A  somewhat  extensive  reading  of  history  has 
failed  to  show  an  instance  in  which  a  country  oc- 
cupied by  two  distinct  races,  with  the  minority  race 
in  control  by  reason  of  its  possession  of  the  property 
and  educational  opportunities,  a  government  fair 


228  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

to  the  majority  has  ever  resulted.  Students  wno 
are  interested  in  this  phase  of  government  will  find 
a  striking  parallel  between  the  history  of  Mexico 
during  the  four  hundred  years  that  her  territory 
has  been  occupied^by  a  majority  aboriginal  race, 
and  a  governing  minority  alien  race,  and  that  of 
Egypt,  during  the  more  than  twelve  hundred  years 
since  that  country  was  conquered  by  the  Moham- 
medan Arabs.  When  this  race  conquered  Egypt, 
they  became  the  possessors  of  its  land  and  of  what 
educational  opportunities  existed,  and  thereby  be- 
came the  governing  element,  although  they  were 
always  much  in  the  minority. 

The  majority  native  race  became  the  labouring 
class,  commonly  known  as  the  fellaheen — the 
hewers  of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water  for  the 
governing  class.  This  condition  continued  for 
about  nine  hundred  years  until  the  country  was 
conquered  and  its  government  taken  over  by  the 
Turks.  Afterward  the  Turks,  associated  with  the 
Arabs,  who  were  of  the  same  religion,  continued  to 
be  the  governing  element,  with  the  fellaheen  ma- 
jority still  continuing  to  furnish  the  common  labour 
of  the  country.  Just  how  this  minority  of  prop- 
erty-owning and  educated  aliens  controlling  the 
non-property-owning  majority  of  the  native  race 
has  worked  out  for  twelve  hundred  years,  is  shown 
in  a  most  interesting  way  in  Lord  Cromer's  great 
book  "Modern  Egypt."  We  find  there  the  same 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          229 

conditions  appearing  to  result  from  the  corrupting 
influence  of  the  servile  majority  working  upon  the 
moral  character  of  the  governing  minority,  that 
we  have  found  in  the  history  of  Mexico. 

For  more  than  twelve  hundred  years  the  govern- 
ment went  from  bad  to  worse  in  corruption  and 
inefficiency  until,  finally,  it  became  necessary  for 
an  alien  country,  England,  to  assume  control  in 
order  that  it  should  be  made  to  discharge  its  inter- 
national obligations  and,  at  the  same  time,  give 
a  chance  in  life  to  the  submerged  majority.  And 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  since  the  English  have 
controlled  the  Egyptian  government,  the  fellaheen, 
for  the  first  time  in  more  than  twelve  hundred  years, 
have  had  something  approaching  a  fair  chance 
in  life.  During  all  that  period  and  until  the  con- 
trol of  England  was  established,  the  fellah,  who 
worked  the  lands  and  furnished  practically  all 
the  other  common  labour,  was  the  economic  victim 
of  his  Arabian  and  Turkish  masters.  He  was 
given  of  the  results  of  his  labour  barely  sufficient 
to  sustain  life;  he  was  denied  every  opportunity 
for  economic  or  intellectual  improvement,  and  he 
became  largely  what  the  Mexican  peon,  under  the 
economic  rule  of  his  Latin  masters,  is  to-day. 
Under  the  control  of  the  English  administrators 
he  has,  for  the  first  time,  received  something  more 
than  a  bare  living  as  the  result  of  his  industry  and, 
by  the  extension  of  popular  education,  is  beginning 


230          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

to  receive  those  opportunities  for  intellectual  im- 
provement which  will  eventually  make  him  a  man 
among  men  and  qualify  him  to  take  a  part  in  the 
government  of  his  country. 

Every  student  of  Mexican  affairs  can  read  with 
much  advantage  Lord  Cromer's  work,  especially 
Book  IV,  in  which  the  story  of  the  effect  of  the 
government  of  an  alien  minority  upon  the  native 
majority  of  Egypt's  inhabitants  is  told. 

The  evidence  of  Mexican  history,  during  the 
four  hundred  years  in  which  that  country  has  been 
controlled  by  an  alien  minority  race,  corroborated 
by  the  example  of  every  other  country  in  which 
similar  conditions  have  existed,  admits  of  but  one 
conclusion;  namely,  that  the  ultimate  salvation  of 
Mexico  depends  upon  its  majority  race  being 
elevated  and  improved  by  a  broad  and  effective 
scheme  of  popular  education,  and  also  by  a  chance 
for  the  betterment  of  its  economic  condition,  which 
can  only  be  afforded  by  an  honest  and  efficient  ad- 
ministration of  its  government. 

How  these  conditions  may  be  brought  about  is 
the  vital  problem  for  which  a  solution  should  be 
found.  That  we  cannot  depend  for  it  upon  the 
Latin-Mexican  element  which  has  misgoverned 
Mexico  for  four  hundred  years  would  seem  to  be 
evident.  We  have  seen  by  the  testimony  of  his- 
torians of  the  past,  and  observers  of  the  present, 
what  has  been  and  is  the  fate  of  the  peon  element 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          231 

composing  80  per  cent,  of  the  population  at  the 
hands  of  the  governing  minority. 

The  stories  told  by  representatives  of  the  Red 
Cross  and  other  recent  observers,  as  quoted  else- 
where in  this  volume,  seem  to  show  that  nearly  a 
century  of  so-called  "popular  government"  in 
Mexico  has  left  the  condition  of  the  peon  very 
much  where  it  was  when  the  government  of  Spain 
ended.  During  that  period  he  has  been  appealed 
to  for  his  support  by  more  than  a  hundred  leaders 
of  revolution  and  each  appeal  promised  him  an 
amelioration  of  his  condition.  That  the  promises 
have  not  been  made  good  by  the  last  revolutionary 
leader,  the  Latin-Mexican  chief  of  the  party  now 
in  power,  appears  to  be  very  fully  established  by 
evidence  that  cannot  be  disregarded.  Looking  back 
from  his  present  pitiful  condition,  through  the 
history  of  four  hundred  years,  the  peon  can  say 
with  Prometheus: 

"  No  change,  no  pause,  no  hope !    Yet  I  endure/' 

I  cannot  believe  that  the  salvation  of  the  Mexi- 
can peon  can  be  brought  about  in  any  way  other 
than  that  in  which  corresponding  changes  have 
been  wrought  in  other  countries  similarly  situated. 

What  Mexico  needs,  and  what  I  believe  she  must 
have,  is  the  intervention  in  her  affairs  of  some  sav- 
ing power  such  as  England  has  afforded  to  Egypt 
and  our  own  nation  has  afforded  to  the  Philippines, 
and  to  Cuba,  in  a  degree,  under  the  authority  of 


232  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

the  Platt  Amendment.  I  had  hoped  that  when 
the  so  called  "A.  B.  C.  Conference"  of  the  diplo- 
matic representatives  of  Brazil,  Chile,  Argentina, 
Bolivia,  Uruguay,  Guatemala  and  this  country 
met  to  consider  the  fate  of  Mexico  it  would  by 
concert  of  action  originate  some  such  movement 
to  rescue  twelve  millions  of  people  from  a  condition 
which  has  for  so  long  been  a  disgrace  to  our  com- 
mon humanity.  I  had  hoped  that  the  peons  would 
be  given  that  chance  in  life  which  every  man  should 
have  but  which  they  never  have  had,  and  never 
will  have  at  the  hands  of  the  governing  element  of 
their  country  if  we  are  "to  use  the  history  of  the 
past  as  a  prophecy  of  the  future."  In  saying  this 
I  realize  fully  that  I  am  challenging  the  convic- 
tions, or  the  prejudices,  of  a  great  many  people. 
For  myself  I  can  say  that  I  am  expressing  a  con- 
clusion which  I  have  endeavoured  to  *a void  but 
which  a  conscientious  study  of  Mexican  history 
and  conditions,  with  the  sole  desire  of  arriving  at 
the  truth,  has  forced  upon  me. 

If  those  who  resent  this  conclusion  would  be 
better  satisfied  by  continuing  conditions  in  Mexico 
that  have  produced,  and  are  producing,  so  much 
agony  to  so  many  human  beings,  they  probably 
will  be  gratified,  for  there  does  not  now  appear  to 
be  any  prospect  of  the  sort  of  intervention  in 
Mexico's  affairs  which  I  am  forced  to  believe  will 
be  necessary  before  any  permanent  amelioration 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          233 

of  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate  masses  can  be 
achieved. 

But  this  need  not,  and  should  not,  interfere  with 
some  effort  to  better  the  condition  of  those  victims 
of  Mexican  misrule  who  are  citizens  of  other 
countries,  most  largely  of  our  own.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  establish  by  argument  the  correctness  of 
the  definition  of  our  country's  duty  to  its  citizens 
living  or  having  interests  in  other  countries  as  that 
duty  has  been  expressed  in  a  hundred  declarations 
from  our  Department  of  State,  and  never  more 
fully,  or  correctly,  than  by  the  plank  of  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Platform  of  1912,  already  quoted. 
That  our  Government,  since  the  revolutionary  con- 
ditions in  Mexico  began  nearly  eight  years  ago,^ 
has  not  discharged  that  duty  to  our  citizens  having 
interests  in  Mexico  nothing  but  the  letter  of  our 
Secretary  of  State,  quoted  in  Chapter  IV,  preceding, 
is  needed  to  show.  As  a  reason  for  this  failure  we 
have  been  told  that  it  was  our  duty  to  show  pa- 
tience and  forbearance  in  our  dealings  with  Mexico 
with  the  hope  that  such  an  attitude  would  be  re- 
warded by  such  changes  as  would  give  to  the  un- 
fortunate majority  of  her  people  a  government  such 
as  they  had  not  had  for  four  hundred  years.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  officials  in  Washington  who 
have  dictated  our  policy  with  reference  to  Mexico 
believed  this  and  were  actuated  by  motives  of 
what  they  conceived  to  be  the  highest  humanitar- 


234  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

ianism.  But  surely,  before  the  lives  and  rights 
of  so  many  American  citizens  were  risked,  our  offi- 
cials should  have  made  a  careful  effort  to  judge 
whether  or  not  there  was  any  reasonable  indication 
that  the  element  in  Mexico  which  they  were  in- 
dulging, at  so  much  cost  to  American  citizens,  could 
reasonably  be  looked  to  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  humanitarian  desires  which  inspired  them.  If 
those  officials  had  realized  that  the  element  to 
which  they  were  extending  an  indulgence  so  costly 
to  many  of  our  people  had  been  responsible  for 
Mexico's  misgovernment  for  nearly  a  century, 
they  certainly  would  have  hesitated  before  staking 
so  much  upon  the  possibility  of  this  element  giving 
to  Mexico  a  better  government  than  it  had  ever 
before  given. 

It  will  not  do  to  say  that  the  Carranza  revolu- 
tionists expressed  aspirations  and  intentions  for 
the  government  of  their  country  of  the  most 
exalted  kind.  History  shows  us  that  nothing  is 
more  characteristic  of  the  Latin-Mexican  element 
than  the  use  of  high-flown  language  in  the  declara- 
tion of  their  intentions  where  the  government  of 
their  country  is  concerned.  And  the  same  history 
shows  us  that,  during  the  ninety-eight  years  of  the 
control  of  popular  government  by  this  same  ele- 
ment, more  than  a  hundred  leaders  of  revolution 
have  pledged  their  duty  to  their  country  in  lan- 
guage as  fervent  and  eloquent  of  patriotism  as  any 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA          235 

that  the  authors  of  the  "Plan  of  Guadalupe"  used 
in  making  pledges  which  they  afterward  promptly 
violated  when  trusted  with  the  government  of 
their  country.  Readers  of  history  will  recall  the 
fact  that  Santa  Anna,  who  was  probably  the  most 
perfect  demagogue  ever  produced  in  Mexico,  em- 
bodied his  pledge  of  duty  to  his  country,  and  of 
sympathy  for  her  unfortunate  masses,  in  language 
as  eloquent  and  high-flown  as  any  ever  used  in  the 
pronunciamientos  of  that  country's  numberless 
revolutionary  leaders.  As  a  result  of  his  eloquence 
and  of  the  fact  that  he  had  lost  a  leg  in  the  French 
bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz,  he  succeeded  in  in- 
ducing his  people  to  call  him  to  the  chief  place  in 
their  government  three  separate  times,  and  each 
time  he  signalized  his  election  by  promptly  betray- 
ing the  people  whom  he  had  pledged  himself  to 
serve. 

Certainly  our  government  officials  must  see  by 
this  time  how  utterly  false  and  hollow  have  been 
all  the  pledges  made  by  the  party  now  in  power 
in  Mexico,  both  to  its  own  people  and  to  the 
nations  of  the  world.  If  this  demonstration  has 
been  made,  then  the  question  would  seem  to  arise: 
Is  it  worth  while  to  continue  to  sacrifice  the 
rights  of  our  citizens  for  a  consideration  which  we 
ought  to  know  by  this  time  will  never  be  de- 
livered? If,  as  a  people,  we  feel  that  we  have  no 
right  to  interfere  to  protect  the  vast  majority  of 


236          MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA  " 

the  Mexican  people  from  the  long  agony  inflicted 
upon  them  by  a  minority  of  their  countrymen, 
surely  we  have  the  right  to  intervene  to  protect 
our  own  citizens  against  the  same  criminal  minor- 
ity. 

That  right  we  have  abrogated  for  nearly  eight 
years,  but  there  is  yet  time  to  accomplish  a  great 
deal  that  justice,  to  speak  nothing  of  humanitar- 
ianism,  would  appear  to  call  for  if  we  would  cease 
to  expect  at  the  hands  of  the  dominant  class  of 
Mexico  the  justice  for  the  masses  which  we  hu- 
manely desire,  and  insist  upon  the  sort  of  govern- 
ment which  the  rights  of  our  citizens  demand. 

In  doing  this  we  will  be  rendering  a  sort  of  ser- 
vice to  the  unfortunate  masses  of  Mexico.  If, 
when  the  spirit  of  loot  and  robbery  began  to  assert 
itself  as  a  part  of  revolutionary  conditions  nearly 
eight  years  ago,  we  had  said  to  the  Mexican  leaders: 
"You  can  kill  and  rob  each  other  to  your  hearts' 
content ;  for  we  have  no  right  to  dictate  what  your 
actions  shall  be  so  long  as  they  concern  only  your- 
selves, but  if  you  invade  the  personal  or  property 
rights  of  any  American  citizen,  we  will  use  the 
whole  power  of  our  great  nation  to  see  that  the 
offender  is  punished,"  we  would  not  only  have  been 
rendering  a  proper  service  to  our  own  citizens  but 
a  very  humanitarian  service  to  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  Mexican  workmen  who  were  engaged  in 
serving  American  enterprises  in  their  country. 


MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA         237 

That  such  an  attitude  upon  our  part  would 
have  prevented  most  of  the  evils  which  our  people 
have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  revolutionists  no  one 
who  knows  the  character  of  the  Latin-Mexican 
leaders  can  have  any  doubt.  The  Latin-Mexican 
recognizes  force  as  the  only  influence  that  can  con- 
trol his  actions.  He  has  no  conception  of,  and  no 
respect  for,  any  other  influence.  Like  his  brothers, 
the  Bolsheviki,  the  I.  W.  W.,  and  the  Germans,  he 
cannot  understand  the  failure  or  refusal  to  use  force 
to  accomplish  a  purpose  if  it  is  at  command. 

By  the  policy  that  we  have  adopted  we  have 
not  only  encouraged  every  sort  of  offense  against 
our  own  people  but  we  have  also  encouraged  the 
destruction  of  business  enterprises  in  Mexico 
owned  by  our  citizens  and  those  of  our  allies  upon 
which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  peon  element 
of  that  country  depended  for  a  living.  In  addition 
to  that,  we  have,  as  we  now  must  know,  by  every 
encouragement  and  assistance  that  we  have  given 
the  Carranza  element,  to  that  extent  assisted  in 
delivering  the  unfortunate  masses  of  Mexico  into 
the  hands  of  the  class  which  is  now,  as  it  always 
has  been,  their  worst  enemy.  In  a  well-meant 
effort  to  serve  these  unfortunate  people  we  have 
actually  assisted  in  imposing  famine  and  death 
upon  thousands  of  them. 

In  truth,  the  result  of  our  handling  of  the  Mexi- 
can question  during  the  past  eight  years,  and  the 


238  MEXICO  UNDER  CARRANZA 

effect  upon  the  masses  of  the  people,  who  appeal 
most  to  our  sympathy,  of  what  we  have  done, 
emphasize  the  wisdom  of  the  saying  that  "sym- 
pathy without  understanding  is  never  effective  and 
often  dangerous." 

Certainly  the  results  of  our  efforts  to  help  the 
greatest  sufferers  in  Mexico  have  not  been  such 
that  we  can  point  to  them  with  pride  or  satisfac- 
tion. We  have  helped  to  destroy  hundreds  of 
American  lives  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  Ameri- 
can property.  We  have  also  assisted  in  turning 
the  government  of  Mexico  over  to  a  party  which 
is  destroying  the  lives  of  thousands  of  its  own 
people  and  confiscating,  and  spending  in  vicious 
and  immoral  living,  the  property  of  other  thou- 
sands. 

Would  it  not  be  better  now  for  us  to  go  back  to 
the  idea  of  doing  our  simple  duty  to  our  own  people 
and  leaving  the  Mexicans  to  their  own  devices, 
if  we  feel  that  we  are  not  warranted  in  rescuing 
the  suffering  masses  of  them  from  the  criminals 
who  are  imposing  upon  them  so  many  of  the  miser- 
ies of  "self-government"  as  it  exists  in  Mexico? 


APPENDIX  I 

THE  GENERAL  LAW  FOR  THE  CONSTRUCTION 
OF  INTERNATIONAL  AND  INTER- 
OCEANIC  RAILWAYS 

Ministry  of  Public  Works,  Colonization,  Industry,  and 
Commerce  of  the  Mexican  Republic. 

SECTION  III 

The  President  of  the  Republic  has  directed  to  me  the 
following  Decree: — 

Porfirio  Diaz,  Constitutional  President  of  the  United 
States  of  Mexico,  to  the  inhabitants  thereof:  Know 
ye— 

That  the  Congress  of  the  Union  has  enacted  the 
following: — 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  Mexico  enacts: 

Only  Article.  The  Executive  is  authorized  to  reform 
the  contracts  which  he  has  celebrated  for  the  construc- 
tion of  international  and  interoceanic  railways,  and  to 
celebrate  new  ones  with  another  or  other  companies, 
which  may  present  themselves,  granting  in  each  case  a 
concession,  without  comprehending  the  arrangement 
of  the  English  debt,  upon  the  following  bases: — 

i  st.  The  concession  or  concessions  shall  be  in  force 
not  more  than  ninety-nine  years,  and  shall  contain  clauses 
relative  to  the  reversion  of  the  road  to  the  nation  free 
of  all  incumbrance,  at  the  end  of  the  term  stipulated. 

239 


240  APPENDIX 

2d.  The  contracts  shall  be  subject  to  the  conditions 
already  agreed,  and  the  reforms  already  accepted  by  the 
soliciting  companies,  without  modification,  except  to 
the  advantage  of  the  nation. 

3d.  In  order  to  treat  with  the  companies,  the  Ex- 
ecutive shall  require  previously  guarantees  and  securi- 
ties suitable  to  compel  the  execution  of  the  enterprise. 
The  greatest  advantages  which  relatively  any  company 
offers  in  favour  of  the  country  shall  bind  the  others. 
Upon  those  points,  the  Executive  shall  hear  the  opinion 
of  the  Attorney-General,  which  functionary  shall  give 
it  in  writing,  within  ten  days,  which  having  passed  the 
Executive  shall  decide  upon  what  is  proper. 

4th.  The  international  and  interoceanic  networks 
shall  be  divided  into  sections  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
tracting for  one  or  more  (sections)  with  each  company 
which  has  complied  with  the  preceding  requisites. 

5th.  The  maximum  of  the  tariffs  shall  not  exceed 
in  any  case  the  following  figures: — 

For  each  ton  of  freight  of  1,000  kilograms  of  mer- 
chandise, and  for  each  kilometre  of  distance:— 

First  Class $0.06 

Second  Class 0.04 

Third  Class 0.02$ 

Passengers  per  kilometre: — 

First  Class $0.03 

Second  Class 0.02 

Third  Class o.oij 

WAREHOUSAGE 

For  each  100  kilos  or  for  each  fraction  of  the  same 
per  day  Jo.oof . 


APPENDIX  241 

The  tariffs  shall  be  revised  every  five  years,  the  Min- 
ister of  Public  Works  having  power  to  reduce  them  in 
accord  with  the  company;  but  in  no  case  shall  there  be 
any  right  to  advance  the  same  beyond  the  maximum 
prefixed. 

The  application  of  the  tariffs  shall  always  be  made  on 
the  basis  of  the  most  perfect  equality,  the  company  not 
being  able  to  concede  to  any  one  any  advantage  which 
it  does  not  give  to  all  who  are  in  the  same  circumstances. 

6th.  The  mails  shall  be  carried  free,  during  the  life 
of  the  concession. 

7th.  The  companies  shall  be  considered  Mexican 
in  all  which  concerns  their  relations  with  the  govern- 
ment and  the  rights  and  obligations  stipulated  in  the 
respective  concessions. 

8th.  The  Executive  shall  fix  in  the  manner  most 
convenient  the  terms  of  payment  of  the  subsidies. 

gth.  The  Executive,  in  making  use  of  this  author- 
ization, shall  not  prejudice  the  rights  acquired  by  the 
States  in  virtue  of  former  concessions. 

loth.  The  concessionary  companies,  in  case  they 
can  acquire  them,  shall  utilize  the  lines  which  have  been 
constructed  upon  the  route  adopted  by  them.  Other- 
wise they  may  construct  parallel  lines.  In  either  event, 
they  shall  not  receive  more  than  the  excess  of  their  own 
subsidy  above  that  of  the  line  already  constructed. 

i  ith.  The  forfeiture  of  any  concession  having  been 
decreed  the  nation  shall  acquire  the  ownership  of  the 
part  of  the  way  constructed  free  from  all  encumbrance 
and  at  a  valuation  fixed  by  experts  named  by  the 
Executive  and  by  the  company. 

From  this  valuation  shall  be  deducted  the  amount 
of  the  subsidies  paid  to  the  company,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder the  Executive  shall  emit  obligations  secured 


242  APPENDIX 

by  a  mortgage  of  the  road,  which  he  may  transfer  by 
means  of  a  new  concession. 

The  rate  of  interest  which  the  obligations  may  bear, 
and  the  manner  of  retiring  them,  shall  be  fixed  in  each 
concession. 

1 2th.  These  authorizations  shall  be  in  force  during 
the  time  of  the  recess  of  Congress,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  Executive  shall  give  an  account  of  the  use  which  he 
has  made  of  them. 


Given  in  the  Palace  of  the  Executive  Power  of  the 
Union  in  Mexico,  on  the  ist  of  June,  1880. 

PORFIRIO  DIAZ. 

(Translation,  from  "Mexican  Central  Railway  Co., 
Limited/') 

Department  of  State  and  of  Public  Works,  Coloniza- 
tion, Industry,  and  Commerce  of  the  Mexican 
Republic. 

(Extracts  from  Contract  between  Manual  Fernandez, 
Chief  Clerk  of  the  Department  of  Public  Works, 
in  representation  of  the  Executive  of  the  Union, 
and  Sebastian  Camacho  and  Ramon  G.  Guzman, 
in  representation  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railway 
Company,  Limited,  for  the  construction  of  two 
railway  lines,  one  from  Mexico  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
and  the  other  from  Mexico  to  Paso  del  Norte). 

CHAPTER  I.    Construction  of  the  Railways. 

Article  i.    .    .    . 

At  the  end  of  the  ninety-nine  years  of  the  grant,  the 
line  will  pass,  in  good  condition  and  free  of  debt,  to  the 


APPENDIX  243 

control  of  the  Republic;  but  the  Government  shall  pur- 
chase all  the  stations,  warehouses,  work  shops,  rolling 
stock,  tools,  furniture,  and  fixtures  which  the  Company 
may  have  for  the  use  and  operation  of  the  road,  and 
shall  pay  in  cash  the  prices  of  said  stations,  storehouses, 
workshops,  rolling  stock,  tools,  furniture,  and  fixtures, 
fixed  by  two  experts,  one  named  by  each  party,  and  a 
third  previouslv  appointed  by  those  two  to  act  in  case 
of  discord. 

If  the  Government  thereafter  wishes  to  rent  or  sell 
the  line  the  Company  will  be  entitled  to  prefer- 
ence. 


Article  5.     ... 

An  engineer  will  be  appointed  by  the  Executive  to 
accompany  each  party  of  surveying  engineers.  The 
salary  of  said  engineer  will  be  fixed  by  the  Executive 
and  paid  by  the  Company,  said  salary  not  to  exceed 
$4,000  per  annum. 

CHAPTER  II.     Basis  of  the  Company. 


Article  13.  .  .  .  Within  six  months  from  the 
date  of  this  contract,  a  part  of  the  Board,  consisting  of 
five  directors,  shall  reside  in  Mexico.  Of  these,  two 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  Government,  and  three  by 
the  Company. 

The  Directors  named  by  the  Government  may  reside 
in  Mexico  or  abroad. 

The  salaries  of  the  Directors  named  by  the  Govern- 
ment shall  be  fixed  by  the  Executive  and  paid  by  the 
Company,  and  shall  not  exceed  $3,000  per  annum. 


244  APPENDIX 

CHAPTER  III.    Concessions  and  Prohibitions. 

•  •••••• 

Article  21. 

To  aid  the  construction  of  the  lines  of  railroad  and 
telegraph  to  which  this  contract  refers,  the  Govern- 
ment binds  itself  to  give  to  the  Company  or  Companies 
a  subsidy  of  $9,500  for  each  kilometre  of  the  road  con- 
structed and  approved  by  the  Department  of  Public 
Works,  according  to  the  terms  of  this  law.  This  sub- 
sidy shall  commence  to  be  paid  after  the  completion  of 
the  first  one  hundred  and  fifty  kilometres  on  the  line 
from  Mexico  to  Leon,  and  successively  for  each  section 
of  twenty-five  kilometres. 

On  the  section  from  Mexico  to  Huehuetoca,  and  from 
Celaya  to  Irapuato,  and  generally  on  all  the  narrow 
gauge  lines  already  built,  and  which,  according  to  Ar- 
ticle 52,  may  be  acquired  by  the  Company  or  Companies 
the  Government  shall  only  allow  a  subsidy  of  $  1,500 
per  kilometre. 

•  •••••• 

Article  27. 

The  Mexican  Government  will  exact  no  taxes  which 
are  not  expressed  in  the  following  article,  for  the  simple 
traffic  of  passengers,  correspondence,  and  merchandise, 
over  the  international  and  inter-oceanic  lines  during 
the  period  of  twenty-five  years,  counting  from  the  con- 
clusion of  each  one  of  said  lines;  and  all  effects  and  mer- 
chandise destined  solely  to  traverse  the  road,  and  not 
for  consumption  in  the  country,  shall  be  free  from  every 
kind  of  customhouse  and  port  duties  as  well  as  from 
taxes  and  imposts  of  every  class. 


APPENDIX   II 
UNION  AND  CENTRAL  PACIFIC  RAILROADS 

Line  of  Road. — Omaha,  Neb.,  to  Ogden,  Utah  (Junction 
C.  P.  R.  R.).     1032  miles. 

The  Acts  of  Congress  (approved  July  i,  1862,  and 
July  2,  1864)  incorporating  the  company  provided  for 
a  government  subsidy  equal  to  $  16,000  per  mile  for  that 
portion  of  the  line  between  the  Missouri  River  and  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  $48,000  per  mile  for  a 
distance  of  150  miles  through  the  mountain  range; 
$32,000  per  mile  for  the  distance  intermediate  between 
the  Rocky  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  range;  $48,000  per 
mile  for  a  distance  of  1 50  miles  through  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada. The  whole  distance,  as  estimated  by  govern- 
ment, from  Omaha  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Paci- 
fic, at  Sacramento,  California,  is  1,800  miles.  The 
company  has  also  a  land  grant  equalling  12,800  acres 
to  the  mile.  The  original  act  provided  that  the  govern- 
ment subsidy  should  be  a  first  mortgage  on  the  road; 
but  by  a  subsequent  amendment  it  was  made  a  second 
mortgage — the  company  being  authorized  to  issue  its 
own  bonds  to  an  amount  equal  to  the  government  as  a 
first  mortgage  on  the  line.  The  original  act  provided 
that  the  charge  for  government  transportation  should 
be  credited  to  it  in  liquidation  of  its  bonds;  and  that  in 
addition,  after  the  road  should  be  completed,  5  per  cent. 

245 


246  APPENDIX  , 

\ 

of  the  net  earnings  should  also  be  applied  to  the  same 
purpose.  The  act  was  subsequently  modified  so  as  to 
allow  the  company  to  retain  one  half  of  the  charge  of 
transportation  on  government  service,  as  the  cost  of  the 
same,  and  also  relieves  the  company  from  paying  the 
5  per  cent,  of  net  earnings. 

(A  claim  having  been  made  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States,  that  the  company  was 
bound  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  bonds  issued  by  the 
government  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  road,  and 
that  the  whole  charge  for  government  transportation 
was  to  be  held  to  be  applied  to  such  interest,  Congress, 
by  an  amendment  to  the  army  appropriation  bill 
which  passed  March  3,  1871,  provided,  "that,  (sec. 
9,)  in  accordance  with  the  fifth  section  of  the  act  ap- 
proved July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four, 
entitled  'An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  an  act  to  aid 
in  the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  telegraph  line 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  to 
secure  to  the  government  the  use  of  the  same  for  postal, 
military,  and  other  purposes',  approved  July  first,  eigh- 
teen hundred  and  sixty-two,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury is  hereby  directed  to  pay  over  in  money  to  the  Paci- 
fic Railroad  Companies  mentioned  in  said  act,  and 
performing  services  for  the  United  States,  one  half 
of  the  compensation,  at  the  rate  provided  by  law 
for  such  services  heretofore  or  hereafter  to  be  rendered; 
provided,  that  this  section  shall  not  be  construed 
to  affect  the  legal  rights  of  the  government  or  the 
obligations  of  the  companies,  except  as  herein  specifically 
provided.'") 

(Poor's  Manual  of  the  Railroads  of  the  United  States, 
1872-73,  p.  389) 


APPENDIX  247 


CENTRAL  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 

.  .  .  By  an  amendatory  act,  passed  by  Congress 
April  4,  1864,  the  Central  Pacific  was  made  a  body  cor- 
porate, with  authority  to  own  such  portion  of  the  road 
as  it  might  construct  east  of  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  State  of  California.  The  company  possesses  ample 
chartered  powers,  both  from  the  States  of  California 
and  Nevada  and  from  the  federal  government. 

For  that  portion  of  its  line  between  Sacramento  and 
the  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  a  distance 
of  7.18  miles,  the  government  subsidy  is  at  the  rate  of 
$16,000  per  mile,  in  its  6  per  cent,  bonds.  For  the  suc- 
ceeding 150  miles  through  the  Sierra  Nevada,  at  the 
rate  of  $48,000  per  mile;  and  $32,000  per  mile  for  such 
other  portion  of  the  line  constructed  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  government  subsidy  is  a  second 
mortgage  upon  the  road,  the  company  being  especially 
authorized  by  an  act  of  Congress  to  issue  its  own  bonds 
equal  in  amount  to  the  government  aid,  as  a  first  mort- 
gage on  the  road.  In  addition  to  pecuniary  aid,  Con- 
gress granted  ten  alternate  sections  of  public  lands  on 
each  side  of  the  line  of  the  road — or  12,800  acres  per 
mile. 

(Poor's  Manual  of  the  Railroads  of  the  United 
States,  1872-73,  pp.  529-30)- 


APPENDIX  III 

Revised  list  of  American  citizens  killed  in  Mexico  by 
armed  Mexicans,  during  the  revolutionary  period 
between  December,  1910,  and  September  i,  1916. 

Total,  285  killed,  including  17  sailors  and  marines  at 
Vera  Cruz,  17  citizens  and  soldiers  at  Columbus,  N.  M. 
Not  including  soldiers  and  officers  killed  at  Carrizal 
and  30  others  not  verified  as  to  dates,  etc.,  killed  in 
Mexico. 
Adams,  William,  Near  Ascension,  Chihuahua,  May  i, 

1912,  Federal  officer. 

(Adams  was  shot  while  attending  funeral  of  his 

wife.) 

Akers,  Bert,  Chihuahua,  Jan.  21,  1916,  Mexicans. 
Alamia,  John  B.,  Rio  Bravo,  Tamaulipas,  1913,  Un- 
known bandits. 
Allen,  Oscar,  Pearson,  Mar.  16, 1914,  Unknown  bandits. 

(Murdered  with  an  axe.    Employee  of  Madera  Co.) 
Anderson,  Mrs.,  daughter  and  neighbor,  Chihuahua, 

June  22,  191 1,  Madero  soldiers. 
Anderson,  Maurice,  Santa  Ysabel  massacre,  Jan.  9, 

1916,  Villistas. 
Anton,  George. 

Atwater,  Herbert,  Vera  Cruz,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Austin,  A.  L.  Near  Matamoros,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Austin,  Chas.,  Near  Matamoros,  Aug.  7,  1914,  Carran- 

zistas. 

(Chas.  Austin,  son  of  A.  L.  Austin,  killed  in  1915.) 
248 


APPENDIX  249 

Ayers,  Bowan,  Patzcuaro,  Michoacan,  Aug.  14,  1912, 

Unknown  bandits. 
Bagnell,  Captain,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Bandits. 

(Capt.  Bagnell  an  English  subject.) 
Batamia,  Juan,  Matamoros,  1915,  Order  Gen.  Blanco. 
Barrett,  Thos.,  Cinco  Minas  Works  at  Hostolipaquillo, 

Jalisco,  1913,  Bandits. 
Bauch,  Gustave,  Juarez,  1914,  Villa. 
Bean,  Edgar,  Puerto  Cifes,  Sonora,  1915,  Bandits. 
Beard,  James,  Parras,  Coahuila,  May,  1914,  Bandits. 
Bennett,  J.  N.,  Tampico,  1915,  Carrancistas. 
Benton,  Thos.,  In  Villa's  office,  Juarez,  April  9,  1914. 

(Benton  was  an  English  subject  and  his  murder 
was  made  a  subject  of  correspondence  between 
England  and  this  country.) 
Billings,  Roscoe,  Near  Mexico  City,  Feb.,  1915,  Carran- 

zistas. 

Bird,  Near  Tampico,  1915,  Carrancistas. 
Bishop,  Tomesachic,  Nov.,  1914,  Carranza  soldiers. 
Bishop,    Mrs.  W.   I.,    Mexico  City,  Feb.    n,   1913, 

Rebels. 
Blackenburg,  Herman,  Near  Chihuahua,  Mar.  30, 1916, 

Bandits. 
Boley,  Bernard,  Near  Raymond  ville,  Matamoros,  1915, 

Bandits. 

Boone,  Chas.,  Guzman,  Oct.  28,  1915,  Villa  soldiers. 
Boris,  Gerew,  Near  Nueva  Vista,  Feb.  20,  1912,  Ban- 
dits. 
Boswell,  Louis  Frank,  Vera  Cruz,  April  24,  1914,  Mex. 

Federals. 

Brooks,  "Johnny",  Colonia  Chuichupa,  Bandits. 
Brown,  C.  M.,  Mazatlan  Section,  1915,  Indians. 
Burton,  Henry  Knox,  Santa  Rosalia,  July  6,   1913, 

Carranza  soldiers. 


25o  APPENDIX 

Burwell,  Weston,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carrancistas. 
Buyrd,  W.  M.,  Jr.,  Tampico,  1915,  Bandits. 
Bushnell,  L.,  Mexico,  Mar.  24,  1913,  Bandits. 
Butler,  Jas.,  Columbus,  N.  Mex.,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villa 

soldiers. 

Camera,  Eugene,  Lencho,  Sonora,  1915,  Indians. 
Camp,  John,  El  Paso,  Texas,  May  9,  191 1,  Bandits. 
Carroll,  John  G.  D.,  Alamo,  Lower  Cal.,  June  1 1,  191 1, 

Federal  soldiers. 
Carruth,  Mrs.  Lee,  and  five  children,  Cumbre  Tunnel, 

Feb.  4,  1914,  Rebels. 

Chapel,  F.  C,  Nogales,  Sonora,  1914,  Mexican  soldiers. 
Crawford,  James,  Vera  Cruz,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Clarke,  Dr.  R.  G.,  Mexico  City,  May  27,  1911. 

(Dr.  Clarke  was  from  Taylorsville,  111.,  and  was  a 

partisan  of  Felix  Diaz.) 

Cohen,  Glen  Springs,  May  6,  1916,  Mexican  raiders. 
Colee,  Glen  Springs,  May  6,  1916,  Mexican  raiders. 
Compton,  Harry,  Chihuahua  City,  1915,  Unknown 

bandits. 

Compton.     .    .    .i  Glen  Springs,  May  6,  1916,  Mexi- 
can raiders. 
Cooper,  Clarence,  Pearson,  May  4,   1913,  Unknown 

bandits. 
Corbett,  William,  Near  Minaca,  1916,  Villistas. 

(Corbett  was  an  employee  of  Palomas  Land  & 

Cattle  Co.) 
Corrie,  William  W.,  On  board  S.  S.  California,  Apr.  1 1, 

1913,  Carranzistas. 
Couch,  A.  H.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Unknown 

bandits. 

Coy,  Juan,  Monclavo,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Cramer,  Roy,  Guerrero  district,  Jan.  i,  1916,  Villistas. 
Critchfield,  Geo.,  Tuxpam,  Apr.  7,  191 1,  Revolutionists. 


APPENDIX  251 

Cromley,  Henry,  Purandire,  Michoacan,  Jul.  21,  1912, 

Mex.  man  serv. 

Dalrymple,  Chas.,  Victoria,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Darrow,  Berris,  Nueva  Buena,  Feb.  2,  1913,  Unknown 

bandits. 
Davidson,  W.  A.,  Columbus,  N.  Mex.,  Mar.  10,  1916, 

Villa  soldiers, 
Dean,  J.  S.,  Columbus,  N.  Mex.,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villa 

soldiers. 
DeFabir,  C.  G.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal 

soldiers. 

Delawry,  F.  T.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal  sol- 
diers. 
Deverick,  Frank,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal 

soldiers. 

Dexter,  Edward  G.,  1915,  Oaxaca  Indians. 
Diepert,  Geo.  A.,  Juarez,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Dingwall,  Wm.  B.  A.,  April  30,  1913,  Rebels. 
Dixon,  Chas.,  Juarez,  Jul.  26,  1913,  Mexican  soldiers. 
Donald,  Bruce,  Near  Guerrero,  1916,  Villistas. 
Donaldson,  R.  E.,  Near  Matamoras,  1915,  Unknown 

bandits. 

Donavan,  J.  J.,  Esperanza,  Sonora,  1915,  Indians. 
Doster,  Edward  D.,  Mexico  City,  May,  1914,  Unknown 

bandits. 
Davidson,  Roderick,  Rosario  Station,  Tepic.,  Apr.  5, 

1916,  Unknown  bandits. 

(Body  taken  to  Mazatlan  and  buried  under  super- 
vision of  American  Consul  Alger.) 

East,  Victor  W.,  Campeche,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Eckles,  Temosachic,  Nov.,  1914,  Federal  soldiers. 
Edson,  John,  Evanado,  Guadalajara,  1915,  Unknown 
bandits. 


252  APPENDIX 

Edson,  Mrs.,  Evanado,  Guadalajara,  1915,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Edwards,  J.  C,  Agua  Prieta,  Apr.  13,  191 1,  Villistas. 

Ely,  Isaac  R.,  Tampico,  1915,  Villistas. 

Ernest,  Howell,    .    .    . 

Evans,  Thos.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 

Farrell,  Tom,  Hermosillo,  1915,  Indians. 

Fay,  W.  A.,  Esperanza,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 

France,  Wenceslao,  Acala,  Chiapas,  Sept.  23,  1911, 
Indians. 

Ferguson,  R.  H.,  1915,  Unknown. 
(By  bullet  fired  across  the  river.) 

Fischer,  E.  C.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  24,  1914,  Federal  sol- 
diers. 

Forney,  Ernest,  Brownsville,  1915,  Mexican  raiders. 

Foster,  Dr.  Allan,  L.,  Alamo,  Lower  Cal.,  June  11,1911, 
Federal  soldiers. 

Fountaine,  Thos.,  Jimenez,  Mar.,  1912,  Orozquistas. 

Fowler,  Wm.  E.,  Tuxpam,  Mar.  9,  191 1,  Mexican  peon. 

Froliebstein,  E.  H.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal 
!    soldiers. 

Fried,  L.  O.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal  soldiers. 

Gillette,  Frank,  Rosa  Morda,  Tepic,  Dec.  10,  1911, 
Bandits. 

(Gillette  was  formerly  a  resident  of  Cleveland. 
Murdered  at  his  plantation.  His  wife  was  tied 
to  a  tree  while  husband  was  killed  as  she  looked 
on.) 

Gilmartin,   M.  J.,   Cumbre  Tunnel,   Feb.  4,    1914, 
Bandits. 

Goldsborough,  Chas.,  Fuerte  dist.  Sinaloa,  1915,  In- 
dians. 

Three  sons  of  John  Goodman,  Acapulco,  Apr.,  1911, 
Unknown  bandits. 


APPENDIX  253 

Grigalva,  Reyes,  Nogales,  1915,  Mex.  policeman. 
Griffin,   Benj.,  Chihuahua,  Jul.    5,    1913,   Unknown 

bandits. 

Griffin,  Fred  A.,  Columbus,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villistas. 
Griffith,  Mrs.  Percy,  Mexico  City,  Feb.,  1912,  Unknown 

bandits. 
Haggerty,  David  A.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  21,  1914,  Federal 

soldiers. 

Hall,  Alexander,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Hamilton,  Victor,  Near  Torreon,  Jan.  1 5,  1916,  Villistas. 
Harmon,  E.  M.,  Chihuahua,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Harper,  A.  N.,  South  of  Nogales,  Nov.  12,  1915,  Un- 
known bandits. 

Hart,  H.  M.,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villistas. 
Harvey,  James  W.,  Chihuahua,  May,  1912,  Mexican 

rebels. 
Harwood,  P.  W.,  Lower  California,  Jan.  28,   1914, 

Federal  soldiers. 

Hase,  H.  C,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Hays,  Edmund,  Madera,  Chihuahua,   1913,  Federal 

soldiers. 
Hidy,  John  Camp,  San  Luis  Potosi,   May   18,  1911, 

Bandits. 
Hertling,  John,  Douglas,  Arizona,  July,  1912,  Orozco 

rebels. 

Hadley,  C.  B.,  Guadalajara,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 
Hobbs,  Sergt.  M.  A.,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916, 

Villistas. 
Holmes,  Mrs.  Minnie  L.,  Mexico  City,  Feb.  12,  1913, 

Carranza  bandits. 
Howard,  Frank,  Coalcoman,  Michoacan,  Mar.  13,  1913, 

Unknown  bandits. 
Howard,  John  S.  H.,  Eagle  Pass,  Texas,  Feb.  10,  1913, 

Unknown  bandits. 


254  APPENDIX 

Horace,  Frank,  Coalcoman,  Michoacan,  Mar.,  1912, 

Mexican  rebels. 
Huntington,  Robt.,  Agua  Prieta,  Apr.  13,  191 1,  Carran- 

za  bandits. 

Jacoby,  James,  Chihuahua,  1915,  Carranza  bandits. 
James,  Mrs.  Milton,  Columbus  raid,  May  10,  1916, 

Villistas. 
Jensen,    Chas.,    Near    Matamoros,    1915,    Unknown 

bandits. 
Jones,  Harry  J.,  Ojo  de  Agua,  Texas,  1915,  Mexican 

raiders. 
Johnson,  Guy,  Chihuahua,  Feb.  10,  1916,  Unknown 

bandits. 

Johnson,  Thos.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Feb.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Joyce,  Martin  S.,  Ojo  de  Agua,  Texas,  1915,  Mexican 

raiders. 

Kane,  Thos.  C.,  Apr.  10,  1912,  Unknown  bandits. 
Keane,  Peter,  Jan.  8,  1916,  Villistas. 
Kelly,  Dr.  E.  E.,  Sonora,  1914,  Indian  soldiers. 
Kelly,  Patrick  J.,  Velardena,  Durango,  Sept.  29,  1912, 

Unknown  bandits. 

Kelly,  Patrick,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914,  Bandits. 
Kendall  (engr.),  Near  Brownsville,  1915,  Bandits. 
Kindvall,  Frank  J.,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.   10,   1916, 

Villistas. 
Kendall,  Wm.,  Hostolipaquilla,  Oct.  13, 1913,  Unknown 

bandits. 

King,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carrancistas. 
Klesow,  John,  On  board  S.  S.  California,  Apr.  1 1,  1913, 

Mex.  policeman. 

Kraft,  Anthony,  Brownsville,  1915,  Mexican  raiders. 
Krause,  Emil  Alex.,  Novillas,  Tampico,  Dec.  12,  1910, 

Unknown  bandits. 
Klewson,  John  C.,  Guaymas,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 


'APPENDIX  255 

Lawrence,  Albert  H.,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carrancis- 
tas. 

Lane,  D.  J.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  24,  1916,  Mexican  fed- 
erals. 

Lauhel,    Porfirio,    Nuevo    Laredo,    1913,    Unknown 
bandits. 

Lawrence,  James  O.,  Tampico,  Mar.  22,  1912,  Mexican 
officer. 

Lindsley,  Lee,  Near  Minaca,  1916,  Carrancistas. 

Littles,  Steven,  1916,  Unknown  bandits. 

Lockhart,  John  R.,  Durango,  Nov.  n,  1911,  Indians. 

Maderis,  H.  F.,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914,  Bandits. 

Maguire,  Geo.  R.,  Alice  Road,  1915,  Bandits. 

Mrs.  Mallard  and  baby,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carran- 
cistas. 

Martin,  G.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  21,  1914,  Federals. 

Martinez,  Lucianao,  Tampico  dist.,  1913,  In  battle. 

Martinetto,  A.,  Cumpas,  1915,  Villa  soldiers. 

Mathewson,  A.,  1912. 

Meredith,  R.  W.,  Mexico  City,  Feb.,  1916,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Miller,  Chas.  DeWitte,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916, 
Villistas. 

Miller,  Morton,  South  of  Tia  Juana,  Jan.  28,  1914, 
Federal  soldiers. 

Miller,  C.  C,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villistas. 

Milton,  Chas.,  Sonora,  1915,  Huerta  followers. 

Moreys,  J.  I.,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914,  Bandits. 

McBee,  Albert  T.,  Brownsville,  1915,  Mexican  raiders. 

McClellan,  James  B.,  Rio  Chico,  Durango,  Mar.  10, 
1912,  Unknown  bandits. 

McConnell,   Herbert,  Ojo  de  Agua,    1915,   Mexican 
raiders. 

McCoy,  J,  P.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Bandits. 


256  APPENDIX 

MacDonald,  Maurice,  San  Pedro  de  las  Colonias,  1914, 

Federal  soldiers. 
McCutcheon,  E.  J.,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914, 

Bandits. 
McDonald,  W.  H.,  Pachuco  Hidalgo,  June  4,  1911, 

Unknown  bandits. 

McGregor,  Don.,  Minaca,  Apr.  n,  1916,  Villistas. 
McHatton,    Richard,    Santa   Ysabel,   Jan.   9,    1916, 

Villistas. 

Mclntosh,  Walter,  Tampico,  1915,  Carrancistas. 
McKane,  Dr.  E.  S.,  Near  Brownsville,  1915,  Mexican 

raiders. 
McKinney,  Arthur,  35  miles  south  of  Columbus,  1916, 

Villistas. 

McKinsea,  Near  Agua  Prieta,  Sept.,  1912,  Rebels. 
McManus,  J.  B.,  Mexico  City,  1915,  Zapatistas. 
Moore,  J.  J.,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villistas. 
Morris,  J.  L.,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914,  Bandits. 
McKinney,  Patrick,  Mexico  City,  1914,  Bandits. 
Newman,  George,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Nieverdalt,  Sgt.  John,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916, 

Villistas. 

Nixon,  Edward  L.,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carrancistas. 
Olsen,  Seifer,  Near  Cuernavaca,  Apr.  26,  1911,  Zapa- 
tistas. 

(Formerly  professor  in  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia.) 

O'Neill,  James,  Near  Ninaca,  1916,  Villistas. 
Parks,  Samuel,  Vera  Cruz,  May  6,  1914,  Soldiers  under 

General  Maas. 
Parker,  W.  and  wife,  Hachita,  N.  Mex.,  June  26,  1916, 

Mexican  bandits. 
Patrick,  Glennon,  Alamo,  Lower  Cal.,  June  n,  1911, 

Federal  soldiers. 


APPENDIX  257 

Pearce,  W.  D.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  6,  1916,  Villisfas. 
Percy,  Rufus  E.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal 

soldiers. 
Parmenter,  John  Glen,  Guadalajara,  1915,  Unknown 

bandits. 
Pearson,  Geo.  F.,  Western  Chihuahua,  Jan.  12,  1916, 

Gen.  Rodriguez. 

Peterson,  Near  Panuco,  1914,  Carrancistas. 
Pederson,  Peter,  Vera  Cruz. 
Pelham,  Oscar,  Sta.  Gertrude's  mine,  near  Pachuco, 

Sept.  14,  1911,  Mexican  rebels. 
Pope,  Elbert,  Lower  California,  June,  1911,  Bandits. 
Poinsette,  George,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  21,  1914,  Federal 

soldiers. 

Powdexter,  William,  Chihuahua,  1915,  Mexican  civilians. 
Price,  Scott,  Mexico,  Sept.  16,  1912,  Unknown  bandits. 
Pringle,  Chas.  A.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Reid,  James  M.,  Mexico  City,  Nov.  20,  1910,  Mex. 

policeman. 

Ritchie,  A.  C,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villistas. 
Robertson,  Wm.  C.,  Mazatlan  dis.  Sinoloa,  1913, 

Rebels. 

Robinson,  E.  L.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Rogers,  Glen  Springs,  May  6,  1916,  Mexican  raiders. 
Romero,  M.  B.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Roth,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carrancistas. 
Ross,  Mrs.  Chas.  E.,  Chihuahua,  1915,  Bandits. 
Root,  Morris,  Nuajoori,  Tepic.,  Sept.  2,  1913,  Unknown 

bandits. 
Russell,  Herbert,  Near  Durango  City,  Sept.  29,  1912, 

Mexican  rebels. 
Sandanel,  Jesus,   Near   Brownsville,   Feb.    10,    1915, 

Mexican  soldiers. 
San  Blaz,  Joseph  T.,  Sinaloa,  1915,  Indians. 


258  APPENDIX 

Sanchez,  Encarnacion,  Mexicali,  1913,  Federal  soldiers. 

Sawyers,  Guy  S.,  Monterey,  1914,  Constitutionalists. 

Schubert,  Guido,  1913,  Orozco  rebels. 

Scott,  Peter,  Near  Nogales,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 

Shaffer,  Ernest,  Ojo  de  Agua,  Texas,  1915,  Mexican 
raiders. 

Schofield,   Bernard,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,   1914, 
Villistas. 

Schmaher,  J.  F.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  21,  1914,  Federal 
soldiers. 

Seffer,  Pehr.  O.,  Cuernavaca,  Apr.  29,  1911,  Zapata 
rebels. 
(Probably  same  as  Seffer  Olson,  listed  under  "O".) 

Slate,  Henry,  South  of  Nogales,  Nov.  12,  1915,  Un- 
known bandits. 

Seggerson,  Chas.,  Juarez,  1913,  Unknown  bandits. 

Shepherd,  John  W.,  Guanajuato,  Aug.  10,  1912,  Un- 
known bandits. 

Shope,  Wm.  Henry,  Near  Medina. 

(Shope  is  given  in  list  of  killed  in  1910.) 

Simmons,  Albert  F.,  Near  Torreon,  Jan.   15,   1916, 
Villistas. 

Simmons,  R.  H.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 

Simon,  Corp.  Paul,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.   10,   1916, 
Unknown  bandits. 

Smith,  Escalon,  Mar.  27,  1912,  Unknown  bandits. 

Smith,  C.  A.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,   1914,  Mexican 
federals. 

Smith,  Frank,  Tampico,  1914,  Mexican  federals. 

Smith,  J.  P.,  Near  Matamoros,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 

Smith,  John  and  five  other  Americans,  Panuco  River, 
near  Tampico,  May,  1915,  Mexicans. 

Spillbury,  Ernest,  Pachuca  City,  Dec.  31,  1912,  Mexi- 
can civilian. 


APPENDIX  259 

Shell,  Benj.,  Near  Minaca,  1916,  Carrancistas. 

Soto,  Pablo,  Mexico,  Mar.  24,  1913,  Unknown  bandits. 

Squires,  C.  A.  L.,  La  Colorado,  1915,  Indians. 

Stell,  Dr.  A.  T.,  Near  Guerrero,  1916,  Villistas. 

Stepp,  H.  W.,  Durango,  June  18,  1912,  Mexican  rebels. 

Stevens,  William  J.,  Pacheco,  Chihuahua,  Aug.  28, 
1912,  Unknown  bandits. 

Strauss,  H.  L.,  Cuautia,  Morelos,  Aug.  n,  1912,  Un- 
known bandits. 

Stream,  A.  S.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal  sol- 
diers. 

Stubblefield,  Henry,  Progreso,  1915,  Carranzistas. 

Summerlin,  Rudolph,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  24,  1914,  Federal 
soldiers. 

Smith,  Baron,  Mexico  City,  Feb.,  1915,  Carranza 
soldiers. 

Joseph,  Tays,  San  Bias,  near  Sinaloa,  Sept.  5,  1914, 
Carrancistas. 

Taylor,  James  E.,  Vera  Cruz,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 

Taylor,  S.  E.,  April  28,  1912,  Unknown  bandits. 

Teanhl,  Gilbert,  San  Luis  Potosi,  1915,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Thomas,  A.  E.,  South  of  Nogales,  Feb.,  1916,  Rebels. 

Thomas,  John  Henry,  Madera,  Chihuahua,  1913, 
Federal  soldiers. 

Thomas,  Robert,  Madera,  Federal  soldiers. 

Urban,  Richard,  Sonora,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 

Valencia,  Jose,  Mexicali,  1913,  Unknown  bandits. 

Vandenbsh,  Walter,  Durango,  1915,  Mexican  civilian. 

Varn,  Grover  V.,  Durango,  1916,  Villistas. 

Vergarra,  Clemente,  Piedras  Negras,  1915,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Waite,  W.  H.,  Ochotal,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  4,  1912,  Bandits. 
(Beheaded  when  he  refused  to  pay  money.) 


260  APPENDIX 

Wadley,  Charles,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 

Walker,  W.  R.,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916,  Villistas. 

Wallace,  W.  J.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 

Ward,  Frank,  Near  Yago,  Tepic,  Apr.  9,  1913,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Warren,  James  L.,  Tampico,  1915,  Carranza  Colonel. 

Warwick,  William  S.,  Juarez,  1915,  Shot  from  across 
river. 

Watson,  C.  R.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 

Watson,  W.  I.,  Vera  Cruz,  Apr.  22,  1914,  Federal 
soldiers. 

Webster,  John  E.,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914, 
Bandits. 

Weinger,  Thomas,  Mapami,  Durango,  Oct.  2,  1913, 
Rebels. 

Wells,  Edward  F.,  Near  Vera  Cruz,  1915,  Unknown 
bandits. 

White,  Hostolipaquilla,  May,  1914,  Unknown  bandits. 

Williams,  Hostolipaquilla,  May,  1914,  Unknown  ban- 
dits. 

Williams,  John  H.,  Nacosari,  Mar.  8,  1913,  Rebels. 

Williams,  Lee,  Cumbre  Tunnel,  Feb.  4,  1914,  Ban- 
dits. 

Williams,  Robert,  Mexico,  Sept.  16,  1912,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Williams,  John,  Sonora,  1915,  Indians. 

Willis,  M.  K.,  Calexico,  Lower  Cal.,  July  17,  1911, 
Federal  officer. 

Wilson,  John,  Near  Esperanza,  May,  1915,  Indians. 

Windham,  W.  S.,  Tepic,  1915,  Unknown  bandits. 

Windhaus,  Leo.  C.,  Mercedes,  Texas,  1915,  Unknown 
bandits. 

Wiswall,  Corp.  Harry,  Columbus  raid,  Mar.  10,  1916, 
Villistas. 


APPENDIX  261 

Wolf,  U.  G.,  Northern  Sonora,  June  16,  1913,  Unknown 

bandits. 

Wood,  Near  Tampico,  1914,  Carrancistas. 
Woon,  J.  W.,  Santa  Ysabel,  Jan.  9,  1916,  Villistas. 
Wallace,  Walter,  Rosario  Sta.,  Tepic,  Apr.,  5,  1916, 

Bandits. 

(Body  taken  to  Mazatlan  and  buried  under  super* 
vision  of  American  Consul  Alger.) 

In  addition  43  Americans,  whose  names  are  not  given, 
are  known  to  have  been  killed  at  different  places  in 
Mexico.  In  this  number  of  43  are  included  the  thir- 
teen American  soldiers  and  two  officers  killed  at  Carri- 
zal  by  Carranza  soldiers,  June  18,  1916. 

VICTIMS  OF  CUMBRE  TUNNEL  HORROR,  FEBRUARY  4,  1914 

Mrs.  Lee  Carruth  and  5  J.  I.  Morris 

children  E.  J.  McCutcheon 

M.  J.  Gilmartin  Bernard  Schofield 

Patrick  Kelly  John  E.  Webster 

H.  F.  Maderis  Lee  Williams 

LIST  OF  MARINES  SAID  TO  HAVE  BEEN  KILLED  AT  VERA 
CRUZ,   APRIL  24,    1914 

Louis  Frank  Boswell  Rufus  Edward  Percy 

Francis  P.  De  Lowry  George  Poinsette 

Frank  Deverick  John  F.  Schumacher 

Elzie  C.  Fisher  Chas.  Allen  Smith 

Lewis  Oscar  Fried  Albin  Eric  Stream 

E.  H.  Frolichstein  Randolph  Summerlin 

Daniel  A.  Haggerty  Walter  L.  Watson 

Dennis  J.  Lane  C.  G.  De  Fabir 
Sam  Martin 


262  APPENDIX 

SANTA  YSABEL  MASSACRE,  JANUARY  Q,    lQl6 

Maurice  Anderson  W.  D.  Pearce 

A.  H.  Couch  Chas.  A.  Pringle 

Thos.  M.  Evans  E.  L.  Robinson 

Alexander  Hall  M.  B.  Romero 

H.  C.  Hase  R.  H.  Simmons 

Thomas  Johnson  Charles  Wadley 

J.  P.  McCoy  W.  J.  Wallace 

Richard  McHatton  C.  R.  Watson 

George  Newman  J.  W.  Woon 

COLUMBUS  RAID,  MARCH    10,    igi6 

Mrs.  Milton  James  Dr.  H.  M.  Hart,  Veterinary 

W.  A.   Davidson,  Nat'l  W.  T.  Ritchie,  civilian 

Guard  C.  Dewitt  Miller,  civilian 

J.  T.  Dean,  civilian  N.  R.  Walker,  civilian 

J.  J.  Moore,  civilian  Mark    A.    Dobbs,    Sergt. 
C.  C.  Miller,  (?)  civilian  i3th  Cav. 

John    Nievergelt,    Band  Paul  Simon,  Band 

Sergt.  James  Butler,  Private 
Harry     Wi swell,     Corp.  Troop  F 

Troop  G  Harry  Davis,  Co.  K,  Nat'l 
Frank  T.  Kindvall,  Troop  Guard 

K 
Fred  Griffin,  Troop  K 

Total  number  of  victims,  66 

CARRIZAL,   JUNE    l8,    IQl6 

Lieut.  Henry  Adair,  Capt.  Boyd  and  thirteen  American 
negro  soldiers  whose  names  have  not  been  made 
public. 


APPENDIX  IV 

The  following  list  of  61  outrages  committed  in  the 
oil  regions  of  Mexico  alone  in  a  period  of  6  months  and 
8  days  from  January  23  to  July  31,  1918,  was  published 
in  the  New  York  Times  of  October  20,  1918.  The  oil 
regions  offer  the  most  inviting  field  for  robbery  at 
present  because  they  are  about  the  only  place  in  Mexico 
in  which  industry  is  active.  The  list  includes  10  mur- 
ders. The  total  loss  by  robberies  in  which  specific  sums 
are  mentioned  is  $107,507.  Instances  in  which  specific 
values  were  not  ascertained  are  not  included. 
1918 

Jan.  23. — Five  soldiers  held  up  Territas  Blancas  sta- 
tion of  the  East  Coast  Oil  Co.,  beat  Paul 
Schultz,  pumper,  with  pistol,  shot  both  him 
and  boy  helper  and  attacked  Mexican 
woman. 

Feb.  6. — Bandits  entered  Naranjos  and  made  off  with 
1 6  mules  worth  $3,000  and  3  horses  worth 
$700  belonging  to  the  Aguila  Co. 
Feb.  8. — Gang  of  1 50  men  swept  into  camp  of  Station 
A,  East  Coast  Oil  Co.,  took  everything  in 
commissary,  supplies,  blankets  and  bedding 
and  demanded  $10,000. 

Feb.  12. — Attacked  Ed  House,  paymaster  of  the  Texas 
Co.,  on  Chijol  Canal,  just  out  of  Tampico. 
Fired  on  launch,  wounding  a  launch  boy. 
House  and  assistants  gave  battle  and  got 
away. 

263 


264  APPENDIX 

Feb.  15. — Armed  Mexicans  held  up  camp  of  Freeport 
and  Mexican  Fuel  Oil  Co.,  at  Camalotc, 
carrying  off  Lonnie  Morris,  a  driller,  holding 
him  for  $ \  ,000  ransom.  Morris  finally  freed 
without  payment  being  made. 

Feb.  19. — Launch  Tbendra,  carrying  F.  C.  Laurie, 
attacked  in  Chijol  canal  and  riddled  with 
bullets.  Boat  property  of  the  Cia.  Metro- 
politana  de  Oleoductos  S.  A. 

Feb.  21. — Launches  Thendra  and  Houp-La  attacked 
in  Chijol  canal.  Pilot  and  one  passenger 
wounded. 

Feb.  21. — Horconcitas  camp  of  Mexican  Gulf  Co.,  held 
up  and  pumper  robbed  of  $329.  This  is 
34  miles  from  Tampico. 

Feb.  21. — Ed  House,  paymaster,  the  Texas  Co.,  killed 
and  14,000  pesos  carried  away  by  armed 
Mexicans  with  Federal  army  equipment  and 
rifles.  Dr.  Brisbane  and  Paymaster  Minnett 
both  wounded.  Forty  men  in  attacking 
gang.  Hold-up  in  outskirts  of  Tampico; 
party  taking  money  to  pay  off  workmen. 

Feb.  22. — The  Texas  Co/s  Obando  camp  robbed  of 
2,500  pesos;  several  shots  fired. 

Mar.  i. — Bandits  ran  workmen  of  Tierra  Amarilla 
camp,  the  Aguila  Co.  out  into  brush  and 
took  supplies  and  $175. 

Mar.  i. — Bandits  entered  Potrero  and  made  off  with 
property  worth  close  to  $1,000. 

Mar.  5. — Oil  camp  at  Tepetate  held  up  and  $1,340  in 
gold  and  currency  taken;  bandits  wore  uni- 
forms of  soldiers. 

Mar.  7. — Bandits  again  raided  Potrero,  robbing  every- 
one from  superintendent  to  Chinaman. 


APPENDIX  265 

Losses  of  Aguila  Co.  and  men  estimated  at 
about  $2,000. 

Mar.  15. — Made  second  visit  in  month  to  Camalote; 
took  everything  in  sight.  Subsequent  raids, 
in  which  two  men  were  hanged  to  derrick, 
compelled  evacuation  of  camp.  Property 
of  Freeport  &  Mexican  Oil  Corp. 

Mar.  1 6. — Armed  Mexicans  rob  camp  foreman  of  the 
Texas  Co.  at  Topila  and  hold  up  train.  Con- 
siderable loot  taken. 

Mar.  28.— Launch  Crotes  with  vice-president,  general 
manager  and  employees  of  the  Cortez  Oil 
Corp.  left  Tampico  with  $32,125  on  board. 
Held  up  by  nine  bandits.  Federal  soldiers 
finally  ran  them  off,  but  stole  part  of  the 
money  the  bandits  dropped.  Company's 
loss  $12,007.67. 

Mar.  28. — Bandits  entered  Potrero,  Aguila  company, 
taking  money  and  property  worth  $1,000. 

Mar.  28. — Bandits  again  entered  Tierra  Amarilla,  tak- 
ing property  worth  about  $4,000  including  six 
mules. 

Apr.  6. — Production  camp,  Texas  Co.,  robbed;  loss 
several  hundred  pesos. 

Apr.    7. — Repeated  performance  of  day  before. 

Apr.  12. — Armed  bandits  entered  camp  at  Tepetate, 
beat  employees  cruelly  and  made  off  with 
$323  in  money  and  much  property;  men 
lined  up  before  armed  squad  during  ransack- 
ing process. 

Apr.  13. — Four  men  in  uniforms  of  soldiers  raided 
camp  of  the  International  Petroleum  Co., 
shoving  gun  into  side  of  A.  J.  Kirkwood. 
Assistant  beaten  with  machetes  and  squad 


266  APPENDIX 

of  employees  taken  out  with  threats  of 
execution. 

Apr.  1 6. — Employees  of  Mexican  Gulf  Co.,  finally 
forced  out  of  Tepetate  district  after  series 
of  robberies  and  barbarities.  Did  not  re- 
turn to  work  for  two  weeks. 

Apr.  1 8. — Tepetate  Pipe  Line  pump  station,  65  miles 
from  Tampico,  raided  and  looted  by  bandits. 

Apr.  18. — Theodore  Rivers,  Texas  Co.,  employee, 
robbed  of  watch  and  money. 

Apr.  1 8. — Motor  barge  Alma  R.,  Texas  Co.,  held  up  in 
Chijol  canal  and  several  thousand  pesos 
taken;  threatened  lives  of  men  on  board, 
thinking  pay-roll  was  hidden. 

Apr.  19. — Superintendent  of  La  Corona  Co.,  at  Topila, 
and  his  wife  robbed  and  mistreated  and 
driven  out  toward  Tampico. 

Apr.  23. — San  Pedro  camp  of  the  Aguila  Co.,  raided  by 
bandits,  who  "requisitioned"  $1,340  from 
cashier. 

Apr.  24. — Station  B,  East  Coast  Co.,  Topila,  raided 
and  employees  robbed. 

Apr.  25. — Two  armed  Mexicans  entered  pump  station 
of  the  Aguila  Co.,  at  Bustos,  and  robbed 
everyone  in  sight.  Demanded  and  got  a 
note  to  their  chief,  saying  that  they  had 
done  a  clean  job,  leaving  nothing. 

Apr.  26. — Same  two  Mexicans  entered  Santa  Fe  camp, 
of  La  Corona  Co.,  threatened  to  shoot  cashier 
and  made  off  with  $475. 

Apr.  27. — Armed  Mexicans  again  dashed  into  Sante  Fe 
camp,  shot  up  the  place  promiscuously,  se- 
cured $375  and  disappeared. 

May    6. — J .  N .  Scott  attacked  near  Tepetate  camp  and 


APPENDIX  267 

severely  cut  with  machetes  and  daggers. 

Earl  Boles  and  Ted  Nabors,  who  went  to  his 

assistance,  also  attacked. 

May    6. — Armed  Mexicans  broke  into  Santo  Tomas  sta- 
tion, Aguila  Co.,  and  robbed  station  engineer 

of  personal  effects  and  money  worth  $500. 
May  12. — Armed  Mexicans  robbed  camp  of  everything, 

making  drilling  impossible  for  a  week;  La 

Corona  Co.,  victim. 
May  12. — Soldier  got  drunk  and  went  to  sleep  in  tent; 

other  soldiers  finding  "body,"  declared  he 

had  been  murdered  and  were  getting  ready 

to  lynch  superintendent  when  drunken  man 

was  awakened. 
May  1 6. — Paymaster  of  Cortes  Oil  Corp.,  held  up  by 

pirates  off  island  of  Juana  Ramirez  in  Tamia- 

hua  Lagoon;  payroll  equivalent  to  810,547.50 

in  U.  S.  coin  taken. 
May  1 6. — Launch  R.  C.  Holmes  of  the  Texas  Co.,  held 

up  and  robbed  of  30,000  pesos  in  Tamiahua 

Lagoon. 
May  17. — Rex  Underwood  stood  off  gang  of  armed 

Mexicans  with  revolver,  refusing  to  give  up 

valuables. 
May  22. — Rex  Underwood  fired  upon  from  ambush; 

forced  to  desert  horse  and  $1,040  tied  in 

sack  to  pommel  of  saddle.    Saved  life  by 

taking  to  bush. 
May  1 8. — Tepetate  station,    Mexican   Gulf  Oil   Co., 

again  held  up  and  robbed. 
May  20. — The  sum  of  $103  in  Mexican  gold  currency 

was  stolen  by  bandits  from  the  camp  office 

of  the  Cia.   Metropolitana  de  Oleoductos 

S.  A.  at  lot  No.  9  Tepetate. 


268  APPENDIX 

May  23. — Armed  Mexicans  entered  Santa  Fe  camp  of 
the  La  Corona  Co.,  and  demanded  $20,000 
otherwise  they  would  burn  the  house  of  the 
superintendent.  They  took  the  contents  of 
the  safe,  $456.60,  and  went  away. 

May  23. — The  same  men  visited  Topila  camp,  La 
Corona  Co.,  and  requisitioned  from  the 
camp  boss  all  his  and  his  wife's  personal 
belongings. 

May  26. — Armed  men  return  to  Santa  Fe  camp,  La 
Corona  Co.,  claiming  again  the  20,000  pesos, 
searched  all  camp  houses  and  went  away  with 
$532  and  clothes  of  employees. 

May  29. — The  same  men  overrun  camp  again  and 
took  $156,  being  the  amount  in  the  safe,  as 
well  as  food  supplies. 

June  i. — The  men  entered  the  camp  at  night  and 
robbed  superintendent  and  his  wife  of  all 
personal  belongings. 

June  5. — Transcontinental  de  Petroleo  S.  A.  paymas- 
ter at  Amatlan  lost  during  temporary  ab- 
sence 6,000  pesos. 

June  8. — Armed  Mexicans  returned  to  La  Corona  Co., 
camp  during  full  daylight  and  took  away  the 
money  for  the  weekly  payroll,  amounting 
to  about  2,000  pesos  at  Santa  Fe  camp. 

June  8. — At  3.15  p.  M.  four  armed  Mexicans  rode  into 
camp  at  East  Coast  Oil  Co.,  Torres  Terminal, 
and  demanded  payroll  money.  The  payroll 
having  been  sent  up  to  terminal  by  the 
paymaster  in  the  launch,  had  arrived  at  the 
terminal  about  thirty  minutes  before  the 
holdup  took  place.  The  men  secured 
$1,542.65  Mexican  gold  currency.  None  of 


APPENDIX  269 

employees  was  molested  because  money  was 
surrendered  immediately  upon  demand. 

June  9. — Robbers  broke  into  the  Aguila  Co.,  office 
at  Tepetate  and  forced  open  the  cash  drawer, 
stealing  $967  in  money. 

June  12. — During  the  encounter  between  the  govern- 
ment and  reactionary  forces  the  camp  office 
of  Cia.  Metropolitana  de  Oleoductos  S.  A. 
at  Palo  Blanco  was  ransacked  and  the  sum 
of  $ i,  1 00.81  Mexican  gold  currency  was 
stolen,  in  addition  to  a  considerable  quantity 
of  material  and  commissary  supplies. 

June  24. — On  the  night  of  June  24  the  Mexican  Gulf 
Oil  Co/s,  large  earthen  storage  oil  reservoir 
at  Tepetate  set  afire.  Contained  about 
150,000  barrels  of  fluid.  Approximately 
80,000  to  90,000  barrels  of  fluid  burned  or 
lost  by  reason  of  this  fire. 

June  26. — One  of  the  Texas  Co/s  employees  was 
robbed  near  Topila,  but  fortunately  had 
only  a  few  dollars  with  him. 

June  27. — Foreign  employees  run  out  of  Palo  Blanco 
after  a  regular  battle. 

June  28. — Two  employees  of  Aguila  Co.,  attacked  on 
road  and  left  for  dead,  being  shot  and 
hacked  with  machetes. 

June  29. — Five  armed  men  robbed  Mexican  Gulf  Co. 
terminal  four  miles  above  fiscal  wharf  at 
Tampico.  Four  men,  all  Americans,  mur- 
dered. 

June  30. — Topila  superintendent  of  La  Corona  Co. 
taken  away  and  held  for  ransom. 

July  30. — A.  W.  Stevenson,  camp  cashier  of  the  pipe 
line  camp  of  the  Texas  Co.,  at  Tepetate, 


270  APPENDIX 

was  murdered  by  bandits  upon  his  refusal 
to  open  his  safe  and  deliver  its  contents. 
July  3 1 . — Mexican  Gulf  paymaster  held  up  and  robbed 
of  $8,000  Mexican  gold  within  four  miles 
of  Tampico.  No  lives  were  lost  in  this 
holdup. 


THE   END 


THE  COUNTRY  LIFE  PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


